Beacon Academy: The Days of Our Lives
by MediocreWriter
Summary: What does Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Coco Adel have in common? Copious amounts of money, and the inability to hold a pleasant conversation with anyone outside of the trio. But don't worry! Help in the form of a hyperactive redhead, a yellow lovable oaf, and a cute little rabbit come to their rescue...well, sort of. - a WhiteRose, Bumblebee, and Crosshares fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

**Helloo potential readers! MediocreWriter here :P This is my first attempt at a fanfiction, so don't be too cruel. This is a Bumblebee/WhiteRose/Crosshares (is that what they're called?) fanfic :) and I hope you guys enjoy it. *Deep accelerated announcer voice*: Any and all characters of RWBY belong to the amazing creators at Rooster Teeth.**

 **Anyways... Enjoy!**

The sound of an alarm could be faintly heard; trying to arouse the sleeping girl to consciousness. Furrowing her brows in stubborn defiance, the girl turned her head away from the noise and somehow managed to burrow her head deeper into her pillow. The only thing that could be seen was her long, white-slated hair, rather ungraciously sprawled all over the top quarter of the bed - she was determined to enjoy her slumber to the fullest until a certain Cat Faunus would force her to physically get up.

As if on cue, she felt a soft object pelt the back of her head. She groaned in irritation and was about to say something but was interrupted by her perpetrator.

"Weiss! Turn that thing off, for Oum's sake…" the alleged perpetrator said as she stifled a yawn.

Weiss huffed and turned herself around, slowly swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up to face her assailant. She rubbed her left eye, subconsciously tracing her scar, as she tried to get rid of some residual sleepiness. When she took in the sight before her, she barely managed to cover her laugh.

Standing before her, leaning on the doorframe of her room, was a cranky-looking, sleep-deprived Blake Belladonna. She wore black boxer shorts, and a light grey tank top that had a simple outline of a fish on the front of it. She also had an impressive bed-head, with strands of black hair darting out in each and every direction; and her half-lidded eyes were struggling to stay open. With each relentless 'beep' of the girl's alarm, the cat faunus' ears would twitch in both rhythm and annoyance.

Weiss smiled inwardly and followed Blake's orders, swiftly typing the passcode to her scroll and ending the irritating sound. She looked up again to face the faunus and quirked an eyebrow, "better?"

Blake grunted in response, but instead of returning to her own room she made her way next to her friend; and plopped herself beside the white-haired girl with her back against the bed and her arms covering her eyes.

"Weiss, you know when I wake up I can't go back to sleep…" Blake half-whined in exasperation,

Weiss rolled her eyes, and a sense of mischievousness washed over her,

She smirked, "What? Was your cat nap not good enough for you?" she asked in a teasing tone,

To answer her question, she felt the familiar sensation of a pillow smacking the back of her head. Albeit this time, there was slightly more force behind this particular attack.

"That's not funny, _Ice Princess_ " Blake stated, emphasizing the nickname she knew would annoy the former heiress.

At that, Weiss glared at the Cat Faunus, and Blake gladly returned the intense stare.

For a few moments, they held each other's gazes, silently sizing each other up. That is, until a corner of Weiss' mouth twitched upwards, and Blake's ability to suppress her laughter had faltered. Soon, both of the girls were in a fit of giggles, and Weiss playfully threw the pillow back at Blake, who let out an 'oomf!' when it made contact with her stomach.

She sat up and rubbed the back of her head and sighed, "but seriously though, why is your alarm always set at this ungodly hour?"

Weiss scoffed at that, "because unlike you, it takes me longer to get ready for school! Not everybody has hair that can pass as naturally messy. You literally brush your hair like once, and it just bends to your damn will!"

Blake laughed at that accusation, "what can I say? Some of us were born with more favourable traits like nice hair, while others were born with a family name that sounds like a confused sneeze"

The Schnee rolled her eyes at that statement.

" _Former_ family name," she corrected

Blake smiled, "right."

Both of the girls sat in silence for a moment; and nothing about it was awkward. They just sat and enjoyed each other's presence before they were forced to continue on for this tedious, and mandatory day. A sudden grumble from Weiss' stomach could be heard, and the former heiress flushed at the sound.

"Hungry?" Blake asked. The heiress nodded in embarrassment.

"Let's have breakfast then, I think mom made some before she left,"

"Kali? Where did she go at this hour?"

Blake shrugged, "probably to workout or something, she's been getting into that scene recently."

Weiss smiled at that statement, as she could recall a time when Kali paled in horror when Blake made an offhanded remark about 'how much rounder' her mom's face had seemed nowadays. It wasn't meant to be mean-spirited, but it served as a diversion from Kali's questioning about Blake's slightly revealing clothing. This resulted in playful banter, and bickering and maybe a fish bone or two being thrown across the dinner table. It was a heartwarming scene, really. And definitely a stark contrast to the painfully silent dinner's that she had back at the Schnee Manor.

Her smile faltered a bit at the memories of her past, but her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden blinding lights of the outside world. Weiss hissed and covered her eyes with her arm at the sound of Blake opening the blinds to her room. In the back of her mind, she wondered when the hell the Cat Faunus got up from beside her, but then attributed the girl's stealth skills to her feline heritage.

"Well, mom should be back soon. Let's get ready so we can all eat together," Blake declared

Weiss playfully rolled her eyes, but smiled in agreement.

With that, Blake took her leave, and headed towards her own room so the both of them could get ready for the day. Weiss closed the door behind her, and then strode purposefully towards her closet. She slid open the closet door and began to scrutinize the articles of clothing before her, carefully considering what she should wear. Running her hands over the differing fabrics, she spotted a familiar white, form-fitting sundress outlined with an elegant royal blue snow-flake design at the bottom corner where the skirt flared out. The waist-line was also outlined with a similarly-coloured ribbon with intricate white snowflakes placed at the edges of it. Weiss grabbed the article of clothing and tossed it onto her bed and began to search for a particular blazer.

Her eyes lit up with joy when she finally found the piece of clothing and she took it out to examine it. It was pretty simple, really; just a royal blue half-blazer with white lines outlining the cufflinks, and pockets. She placed the two pieces of clothing together on her bed and nodded with satisfaction. The Schnee then grabbed her outfit and made her way to the bathroom to get her morning routine down and get ready for the day.

When she emerged from the bathroom she saw a familiar flash of black and white flitting across the hallway towards, what she guessed was, the dining room table downstairs. Soon after, the sound of the front door opening could be heard and Kali's "I'm home!" echoed throughout the house. Weiss made her way towards the sound and was going to greet the Belladonna matron a 'welcome back' but stopped when she saw the scene before her.

A very scantily clad, and sweaty Kali Belladonna was drinking a bottle of water that her daughter had tossed her. The woman was wearing nothing but a sports bra and form-fitting tights, revealing an impressively toned stomach and slender arms. Weiss furrowed her brows in confusion at Blake's previous remark about Kali's disposition; as there was definitely _nothing_ round about her. Before she could realize that she was basically ogling the older woman's body, Blake took this as an opportunity to embarrass the former heiress.

"Like what you see?" The younger Cat Faunus teased,

Weiss flushed at that statement and began to sputter incoherent noises. At this, both of the Belladonna woman guffawed and successfully deepened the former heiress' blush to an entirely new shade of red.

"H-How vulgar! The woman is basically my mother!" the Schnee exclaimed,

The two women's laughter died down a little at the declaration and they stared at the girl warmly, with smiles plastered on their faces.

Kali swatted the air dismissively, "yes, yes. It's just a joke, child"

Weiss merely rolled her eyes playfully, and smiled at the woman. She knew that the older faunus woman never had ill-intent towards her. Especially considering that she was the sole person who opened up her home to the young girl after she was disowned from the Schnee heritage. Weiss frowned slightly at the memory, but was interrupted again by a Belladonna woman.

"Well, lets go eat! I'm _starving_ , especially after that run," the older faunus said as she made her way to the dining room.

Both of the girls just stared at the receding form of the Belladonna matron and shook their heads while quietly stifling their laughter. Their breakfast went by pleasantly, as they talked about many things. Like how nice Weiss looked in her outfit, or how 'maybe too much skin' was being showed from Blake's, who retaliated by making playfully snarky remarks about Kali's workout clothes; which again resulted in some projectile fish-sticks being thrown. They then spoke about the schedule for their first day of school at Beacon Academy, and the classes that they were going to take. All in all, the morning was going by swimmingly, and Weiss was genuinely enjoying herself.

When they finished their breakfast and cleaned up after themselves, both of the girls decided to leave for school. They said their farewells to the older feline faunus and began their morning trek.

"I don't get why that woman always makes comments about my clothes! It's not even that bad…" Blake grumbled as she gestured to her outfit.

Her statement was true, her clothes really weren't that revealing in Weiss' opinion. The Cat Faunus wore a simple white, cropped tank-top with a heart-shaped neckline; which, at most, exposed her stomach. She accompanied that look with a black jean jacket, and a pair of black short-shorts with white outlines over the pockets. Weiss just shrugged with a monosyllabic noise in response.

Suddenly, the familiar buzzing and default ringtone of her scroll could be heard from her pocket, and she knew before checking who was calling her.

Blake stared at the girl knowingly, and waited intently for the Schnee to answer it.

On the scroll, the name COCO was visible. Weiss sighed and answered,

"What is it, Coco?" she asked with annoyance,

" _Well that's no way to greet one of your best friends_ " the girl on the other side replied

Weiss rolled her eyes, but smiled nevertheless at the statement, "If you're going to ask us to wait for you in front of the school's monument, then the answer is no."

Coco hissed, " _damn girl, why so cold?"_

Weiss' eyebrow twitched at the pun, "because all of the times we decided to wait for you, we would either barely make it on time, or be late!"

" _It's called being fashionably late, honey. Trust me, no one will care, and people probably expect it from the three of us_."

"Being tardy isn't something that I want to be expected of me," Weiss mumbled.

At that, Blake laughed and raised an eyebrow at the girl, but the Schnee ignored it.

" _Alright! I relent. I'll be at the monument in say, 15 minutes?"_

"Okay. _fifteen minutes_." Weiss warned. And with that, Coco uttered a 'tata' and hung up.

Weiss rolled her eyes, for what seemed to be, the umpteenth time that morning.

"You know… 15 minutes in Coco time is actually like 30, right?" Blake chimed

Weiss' eyes widened in realization, but then she slumped over and nodded in defeat.

"So that means…" her friend trailed,

"I know." Weiss deadpanned

They were going to be late to the opening ceremony.

The very opening ceremony that Weiss had to recite a welcoming speech at.

She let out an incomprehensible sound of pure exasperation and felt Blake's hand on her shoulder as an attempt at comforting her.

 _Great way to start of the school year, Weiss._

 **I hope you guys enjoyed it :) dw, I'm going to include a detailed flashback of how Weiss was kicked out of the Schnee family in the upcoming chapters. I just wanted this WhiteRose fanfic to not be too angsty, especially regarding her family name :P; not to say that there won't be drama between the White and Red characters ;). I'll also be including the girls' parents in this story, who also have a bit of a history/flashback of their own.** **Leave some comments/reviews to lemme know how it is or how it can be improved!**


	2. Chapter 2

Blake stared with amusement, and a small smile, at the scene that unfolded in front of her.

Before her was a flabbergasted Weiss Schnee, mercilessly berating a very (and always) well-dressed, Coco Adel. For the most part, Blake was taking in the various angry facial expressions that the former heiress managed to perform during her small tirade. She processed bits and pieces of the two girl's bickering. Something about Weiss' ' _unbearable embarrassment she had to endure from almost being late, and appearing disheveled and completely unprofessional from rushing towards the podium,'_

Coco shrugged, "Relax, _Ice Princess_. You made it on time!"

"Yeah! After I blundered onto the stage like an intoxicated Sasquatch! Oum, it was so freaking embarassing. You didn't have to push me like that!" the Schnee screeched.

At this, Blake recoiled slightly at the jarring sound of her friend's high-pitched voice.

"Ugh… Weiss, overly sensitive hearing abilities, remember?" she said as she gestured towards her feline appendages.

Weiss huffed at the remark, and then flushed in embarrassment when she realized that they were making quite a scene. What with their bickering earning a couple of concerned glances from other students that were passing by. Blake was semi-surprised no one tried to break up the argument, as they were being rather obnoxiously loud.

Okay actually, she wasn't surprised at all.

No one would have the audacity to even try to tell them to shut up, considering who the three of them were. She never tried to be cocky about it, but Blake knew that they were kind of a big deal.

Over their years of schooling at various Vale educational institutes, the three of them made a name for themselves and were rather notorious for their attitudes. The weight of their family names were also contributing factors to their reputations throughout their school careers, and even in the city for that matter.

First, there was Coco Adel.

She was the sole daughter of the famous, world-renown designer, Juliette Adel - the owner of the _Adel Fashion Line_. Her works were known all over Remnant, and she singlehandedly pioneered many of the fashion trends known throughout her time as a designer. Coco's meticulous attention to appearances was somewhat of a given, which was why Blake was never surprised that the fashionista was always late in the mornings. But, with world-renown success, comes a ridiculous amount of responsibility and obligation; meaning that the woman was never home for her child. This resulted in Coco being raised by the help, who wanted nothing more than a paycheque. Sure, the girl got a bunch of high quality tutors to teach her the basics of school-related subjects, but what wasn't included in their pay was the ability to teach her common courtesy and social cues. To say the least, Coco did not have a filter; and was abrasive towards others, at best.

Then there was the _Ice Princess_ , Weiss Schnee.

The girl's last name should have been enough for anyone to know what her deal was. She was the second daughter of Jaques and Viktoria Schnee - the owners of the _Schnee Dust Company (SDC)_ ; which was arguably the most powerful business empire in all of Remnant. The company dealt with many trades: including vehicles, miscellaneous goods and services (like restaurants, malls, hotels etc.), and even military warfare.

They were best known for their mining company. They had somewhat of a notorious reputation for their underhanded ways of obtaining the Dust from the mines - some of which included the abuse of several Faunus that had no other choice but to work for them.

Weiss was expected to be the very thing that everyone thought she embodied. That is, a spoiled rotten, rich brat who thought the people around her as nothing more than mere objects. However, over the past year Blake had personally came to realize that Weiss was actually quite the opposite. After her disinheritance her mother, Kali, welcomed the Schnee into their home and Blake was forced to get to know her. The young faunus was completely shocked by the outright telenovela way that Weiss denounced her family name, but she honestly did not expect anything less from her. Dramatics wasn't unheard of when it came to Weiss Schnee.

Although yes, she still sometimes had a bratty demeanour, the girl mostly meant well with her actions. She was just absolute shit at expressing herself in an acceptable manner, and almost always rubbed people the wrong way. Her mother Kali would always comment how the former heiress took after her own mother, Viktoria, in that regard.

The details of Kali's and Viktoria's former relationship were as of yet unknown. Every time either Blake or Weiss would prod at the topic, Kali would just smile wistfully and stay silent. If it was something she didn't particularly want to talk about, they wouldn't force it. However, it didn't stop them from being curious every once in a while. They imagined that the two of them had some kind of falling out during their earlier years.

Finally, there was Blake Belladonna.

The Cat Faunus prided herself in being the more mild one of their trio, but she knew well enough that she could still be problematic. She was the child of General Ghira and Faunus Right's Activist Kali Belladonna. Growing up, Blake was what would be considered as an 'Army Brat'; mostly because Ghira spent several years serving in the Valerian Military. Although the man was a faunus, he gained everyone's respect and climbed his way up in the ranks. Blake absolutely adored the man during her childhood, and placed him on a coveted pedestal. The young faunus was absolutely oblivious to the hateful and micro-aggressive remarks that some of the others would make about their feline heritage. She came to realize just how cruel and hateful the world could be when she found out one morning that her father was assassinated by an anti-faunus terror group.

After the incident, Kali was a mess; as she had just lost her spouse and best friend to the hands of blind hate. But, instead of giving into the resent, she opted to advocate for their kind; thus starting the _Belladonna Faunus' Right's_ movement. Kali singlehandedly started a non-profit organization that provided resources and support for Faunus of all kind. She was also a Remnant-renown author of various Faunus Right's books and autobiographies. Many have tried to take her down, but the woman had forged some serious connections that helped her organization stay afloat.

To say that Blake was a hard-headed, opinionated, and driven girl was a complete understatement. On more than one occasion, the Feline Faunus had butted heads with both students and teachers alike regarding many different topics. Some of which resulted in suspensions or downright brawls. Of course, when she was reduced to fighting she almost always came out on top. So people learned the hard way that an angry Blake Belladonna, was a very scary Blake Belladonna. Seriously, the girl had a feral way of fighting, and she did not like to show mercy - especially when she knows that she's in the right.

So, to say that these three girls essentially controlled the student body wasn't much of an exaggeration. A simple utter of their namesake's could strike fear into the heart's of the students that were aware of what the three were capable of. However, this trio was equally as fearful as they were confusing. Nobody could wrap their heads around how these three were cohesive enough to even be in the same social group.

There was one simple answer to that question that only the three of them knew:

They literally sucked at communication.

Social cues and appropriate courtesies completely went over Coco's head.

Weiss was well… Weiss.

And although Blake had no problem in voicing her opinion and felt strongly enough to physically fight for it, she was actually quite a reserved girl. She talked rarely outside the group of three, which resulted in an almost stand-offish aura around the faunus.

Basically, they were a bunch of socially challenged rejects that people were too scared to approach.

"I agree with Blake, your shrilly voice can be rather jarring at times, Weissy" Coco playfully(?) taunted

"Listen, _Adel._ If the next words that come out of your mouth aren't akin to an apology, then so help me Oum I will shove my foot so far up your a-"

" _Okay_!" The faunus interjected before the situation escalated needlessly, "this conversation is obviously not heading to a good direction. Let's just get to class and not waste anymore time, hmm?"

The former heiress merely crossed her arms in defiance, and whipped her face to the side with an indignant "hmmph!"

Coco, on the other hand, wore an amused smirk and nonchalantly shrugged in surrender.

Somewhat satisfied with their replies, Blake sighed and led the way to their first class; which happened to be _Dust and Glyph Symbol Studies_. Blake could vaguely recall the syllabus for this particular class. Mostly she remembered that it outlined that they would cover the analysis of the universal use of dust and it's innovations regarding the advancement of technology. There was also something about the ethical implications regarding dust and glyph use in the military, and in Remnants Industrial Industry.

Overall, Blake thought that the class was going to be interesting, but the same couldn't be said for her two companions. Coco could not care less about the topic, and Weiss didn't want anything to do with dust.

While taking a moment to view their online schedule on her scroll, Weiss didn't even bother to try to suppress her groan, "great, I get to hear and learn again how ' _oh so amazing'_ dust is along with the empire that my bastard of a father created"

Coco raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at this, "Isn't your mother a co-owner of the company too?"

Weiss scoffed, "In name, yes. But my father is essentially the one who runs it; has to do with some misogynistic bullshit that my ancestors believed in… makes absolutely no sense considering that the man married into the name…" she muttered the last part,

Blake's ears twitched at the new information, but decided not to press further on the subject. It seemed like the former heiress was nearly on the brink of having some kind of breakdown.

"Well…" Blake started, "at least it can't get any worse than-"

The Faunus couldn't even finish that hopeful remark.

As if cosmically on cue, a flash of red all but rammed into the poor Schnee, effectively knocking her down with an unceremonious _thud_. If looks could kill, the girl's assailant would be dead in about half a second.

"OhmygodI'msorryI'llmakeituptoyouwhenIcan!" the red blur exclaimed,

Blake quirked an eyebrow in near astonishment and was about to say something, but then a flash of yellow flew by - nearly knocking the Faunus over too; this was then followed by a flash of brown with a familiar set of Rabbit Faunus ears.

"Sorry!"

"Rubes! Chill out, it's not like being late will get you kicked out!"

"Inmycase,itmight!"

The rest of their conversation became muffled and indistinct as they got further and further away from the three women, who were astounded by the play of events.

Coco turned to Blake and grinned, "you were saying?"

Again, the cosmos played yet another joke on the former heiress, and the bell rang.

Blake's cat ears flattened against her head in anticipation… while Coco plugged hers with her index fingers…

Weiss screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Well Helloooo again mi amigos/amigas and everyone in between! MediocreWriter here just dropping another chapter for you all to enjoy! I was thinking about making this chapter longer but then I got lazy :P**

 **Anyways, without further ado, chapter 3 everybody! (Again, all RWBY characters belong to the amazing humans from Rooster Teeth)**

Coco Adel grinned in sheer entertainment at the fuming former heiress beside her. Blake, who was on the other side of the fashionista, was tensed up in anticipation of the white-haired girl's potential actions - which may have involved the homicide of a certain hyperactive brunette.

She had to bite back her laughter when she turned her head towards Weiss' next victim; and saw that the girl was fast asleep across the room, in the very class that she didn't want to be late to. Next to the girl was what she believed to be the flash of yellow and brown that accompanied her as they zoomed past the three girls during the morning. The more vibrant of the two had an untamed mane of golden hair that flowed down to her waist. It seemed to suit her nicely despite it's wild disposition. She wasn't faring much better than her red companion, and was dozing off every two to three seconds.

Then there was the more earthly-coloured of the three. From where Coco was sitting across the lecture hall, she could faintly see the exasperated but warm expression on the girl's face that she held towards her two friends. She also could spy a pair of cute Rabbit Faunus ears atop the girl's brown hair.

Her grin transformed into a wicked smile when she caught onto what their little _Ice Princess_ had in store for the sleeping girl.

"When I get my hands on that little red _bitch_ , I'll make her pay..."

"Pay for what?" The fashionista chimed, "your gaudy, snowflake-ridden outfit?"

The former heiress' eyes flitted towards the girl in a concentrated glare " _Adel_..."

Before she could retaliate, she let out a small 'Youch!' when she felt the sensation of a pinch at her side. She turned accusingly at their black and white friend, who did nothing more but communicate with her eyes that maybe teasing the fuming girl was a bad idea. At this, Coco relented then opted to shrug and smile slyly as she adjusted the circular shades over her eyes.

"And I don't want to hear fashion advice coming from a girl who wears sunglasses indoors..."

Coco could hear Blake face-palm and utter a small 'oh no..." before her own head whipped around to face the former heiress in disdain,

"They aren't _sunglasses_ , they're top-of-the line, totally chic, _Coco-designed_ round-styled shades" the fashionista said vehemently in a pathetically hushed voice. She then pointed a perfectly manicured finger at the white-haired Schnee, "and they're _classy_."

"Yeah, classy for a confused douche-bag inside of a nightclub..."

" _You_ wouldn't know what classy would look like if it smacked right into you, like that redhead!"

"Ugh! this is what's so annoying about you fashion-types. Just because you're associated with someone who has a decent fashion sense, doesn't mean that everything that you do is 'fashion genius', _honey._ " Weiss stated, mocking the way Coco talked.

" _Guys..."_ Blake quietly warned in desperation,

The volumes of their voices were getting louder, and Blake was sure that they weren't even trying to quiet themselves down. At this, Coco briefly scanned their surroundings and noticed that their bickering earned quite a bit of an audience - with student's either giving them concerned or annoyed glances. For a split-second her eyes locked onto the familiar Rabbit Faunus' eyes, who incidentally had been staring in her direction in what seemed to be concern. The fashionista smirked slightly when the girl realized that she was staring right at her, who then flushed a little as she ripped her gaze away. Her attention was brought back to Weiss who had a ghost of a smug smile plastered on her face, as she interpreted Coco's silence as some sort of victory. This irked the girl incredibly. The masses be damned - the day the Schnee outwits Coco Adel will be the day hell freezes over.

"Well, _Weissy,"_ she began as she pretended to nonchalantly examine her fingernails,

"You business-types aren't exactly innocent of using association as a measure of success. Considering that you still ironically use your last name in some warped sense of _pride._ A name that you, oh so eloquently, denounced about a year ago..."

There were a couple of audible gasps that could be heard around them, as they were straight up talking now. Even Blake flinched at the rather underhanded remark; but nothing could have prepare anyone for what the Schnee said next,

"At least my mother _knows_ my name."

At that statement Blake's jaw literally dropped, and she whipped her head around to stare incredulously at the former heiress. She covered her mouth, concealing a bemused smile as she anticipated what the fashionista was going to say, or do, next. Coco didn't know whether or not their feline friend was either distressed or entertained by their argument. But at this point, she didn't really care.

 _Oh no..._ At this point she was ready to throw punches.

The former Schnee heiress knew that the subject of the fashionista's mother was a rather tender topic, and yet she used it as a tactic for public humiliation. It wasn't like she was offended on her mother's behalf; if anything she practically resented the supposed mother figure. The least the damn woman could do after not seeing her daughter after _8 years_ was remember her _freaking name_. For Oum's sake, it was just two simple syllables and had the same repeating letters!

Coco slammed her palms onto the desk and stood up abruptly, towering over her _friend_ , and that friend followed suit with an indignant expression,

"Listen you prissy little bi-"

"Is there something going on over there that could possibly be more important than my lecture?"

The not so subtle reminder that they were still in class had processed between the two opposing girls, with the smaller of the two paling in horror, and Coco staring at the professor indifferently. The fashionista wondered in the back of her mind why it mattered so much. It's not like the man was actually talking about anything relevant to the course. For the last half hour he was blabbering on about the 'good ol' glory days,' which everyone was pretty sure had absolutely nothing about dust ethics. Professor Port continued to wait intently, having assumed that the girl's thought the question wasn't rhetorical.

The former heiress composed herself and smiled sweetly at the robust man,

" _Our_ apologies, Professor Port. We were merely discussing the workplace ethics regarding the Dust mines, and it got a little... heated."

Coco scoffed at that, but then put on a smile of her own, "Yes, and everyone's favourite little _Schnee_ here may have gotten offended when I made a somewhat uncalled for comment about her _family name_. And for that, I _sincerely apologize._ "

Weiss turned to her and continued to smile. Well, her facial expression was more akin to a sneer, what with her eyes carrying some serious murderous intent.

"Your apology is, _graciously_ , accepted." she said through gritted teeth.

Totally oblivious to the storm of passive-aggressiveness playing out before him, Professor Port accepted their statements at face value.

"Well," the man chimed, "as happy as I am to know that I have students who feel passionately about the subject, please do refrain from any discussions during class unless I instruct you all to do so. As you should know, many of this course's tests will include the information that I talk about during class."

Coco couldn't resist to roll her eyes at the man. If his tests were going to be about his youth and the ' _almost heroic way in which he won the Rugby championship at the Vytal Sports Festival'_ , then Coco was sure that she would ace the class with flying colours. Nevertheless, both of the girl's muttered a 'yes sir' and returned to their seats. Shortly after, the school's bell had rung - directing the students towards their next class. Weiss grabbed Coco roughly by her arm, and began to briskly drag the girl out of class with Blake in tow. The sea of student's scrambled to get out of their way as the former heiress did so, but before they left the auditorium Coco spotted a familiar Rabbit Faunus who happened to be staring right at her. The fashionista smiled at her, and gave her a signature _Adel_ wink. Her smile widened when she saw that the action had it's intended effect; with her final vision of the Rabbit Faunus being the girl blushing profusely while hiding behind her rabbit ears.

 _'Cute_...' was what Coco thought,

At least before she turned to face a rather uncute, and angry, Weiss.

"Dammit, Coco! What the hell was that?"

Coco blinked, "An extremely boring lecture?"

"What? no- I mean, are you intent on having some kind of bitch-streak today? Why would you bring up my disinheritance in front of everyone, _as a fucking joke!?_ "

"Gee, I don't know Weiss. Maybe it's because you brought up, the equally as sensitive topic, of my mother to ridicule me?" the fashionista shot back

"Well, you made fun of my damn outfit!" the former heiress all but yelled, "If you took off those damn _sunglasses_ and looked closely, you can see that the _Schnee_ family crest is embedded between some of the 'gaudy snowflakes'"

"Oh, again with your last name! _Schnee_ this, _Schnee_ that... it sounds like an utterly confused snee-"

"Already used that joke this morning," Blake deadpanned.

"Freaking Oum!-" the fashionista jumped.

Their Faunus friend had been observing them the entire time, making sure to be ready if this particular fight had turned physical. The arguments between the two rather hot-headed girls never resulted in physical contact, but Blake couldn't be so sure this time. Especially considering that the Adel heiress was in a particularly foul mood this morning. Normally, the girl was carefree and her 'teasing' was more playful and she somewhat could tell when to draw the line. But in today's class she seemed to say her insults with a small amount of ill-intent towards the former heiress. Weiss, on the other hand, wasn't acting out of the ordinary - her jabs at Coco were to be expected, especially after what the fashionista said. Although, Blake had to admit, the comment about the girl's mother was a bit of a low blow. She could tell that something was bothering Coco, and she wasn't going to let her internalize it.

Blake stared at Coco with soft eyes, "Coco... what happened?"

Weiss stared at Blake in confusion, but then turned her steely gaze towards the fashionista. Indicating that she was intent on hearing the girl out. Both of the girls saw the internal storm occur on Coco's face, as she held a snarky remark on the tip of her tongue. But then her face fell in defeat as she opted to confide in the only two friends that she had,

"Juliette is back in town for a bit,"

At this, Weiss' gaze softened, "Oh... Coco I didn-"

Coco held her hand up to dismiss their white-haired friend, "Save it, Weiss. I know you didn't know, how could you have possibly known?"

She frustratingly ran her fingers through her brown hair, and twiddled with the longer locks of her uneven bob. This was a tell-tale sign that the fashionista was nervous about something, and it angered her more that her mother had such an impact on her. She shouldn't feel _nervous_ around the very being that should have made her feel like she was family. But who was Coco kidding, the woman was a complete stranger to her, and for the most part, she didn't know what to do with herself when she was around the imposing woman. Before she could wallow in self-pity, she felt the sudden sensation of a hand being placed on her shoulder, in an awkward attempt to comfort her. Her eyes rose to meet the former heiress' gaze, who held an expression of understanding.

"Well... for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what I said back in the lecture hall"

A familiar glint returned to Coco's eyes, "Your apology is, _graciously_ , accepted"

Blake failed to muffle her snicker at this, and soon all three of the girls were participating in a fit of laughter. Passersby's were just staring at the three in astonishment as the girls made up as quickly as they fought. After their laughter died down, Blake couldn't resist the following remark

"So... did she remember your name?"

Coco smacked her upside the head.

 **Welp, well that was a chapter. Dw, these three will be interacting with the second half of their cute ships veeerry soon :P just bear with me for a bit ;) Oh and if you didn't know yet, everyone is in their freshman year at Beacon and they're around the ages of 17-18, with Ruby still being about 15.**

 **Until next time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Greetings, internet acquaintances! MediocreWriter here, back at it again with the RWBY fanfic :P I've been getting some solid feedback about the fic, and just wanted to let you guys know that it means a lot to me 3. Anyways... Here's Chapter 4 you cuties ~**

Much to Weiss' and Coco's chagrin, and to Blake's indifference, the trio's next class was _Athletics and Physical Education_. Coco absolutely loathed the thought of sweating, and Weiss just couldn't wrap her head around the rationale for having such a class. They weren't learning anything that would remotely be relevant to their future careers, unless their jobs would involve the continuous dodging of vibrantly coloured balls.

Which was what led the girls to their current situation.

With beads of sweat dripping from the former heiress' forehead, the girl quickly ducked to evade an incoming red, rubber ball; which seemed to be specifically aimed at her face.

"I mean... out of all the things that would cause Juliette to come rushing home, you would think it'd be my birthday!" the fashionista exclaimed while she examined her nails.

The former heiress' more fashionably-inclined friend had long been out of the dodgeball match, and opted to vent to the white-haired girl while she was standing at the side-lines. Their Faunus friend was on the other team, half-heartedly playing the game and looked bored out of her mind.

The said white-haired girl just grunted in response while dodging yet another ball that she was sure was aimed at her head. The ball hit the wall with a loud _thwack!_ that reverberated throughout the entire gym. Weiss whipped her head around to face their gym teacher, and gave her an exasperated look. She was positive that she was being targeted by the girls in their class at this point, and would rather not leave the gym with a black eye. Their teacher caught the girl's gaze and blew her whistle at the former heiress' assailants,

" _Fall! Sustrai!_ Aim below the waist or you're out!"

The two girl's just laughed condescendingly, "What? the _Ice Princess_ can't handle it?"

"Fall..." their teacher warned,

The dark haired girl just raised her hands in mock defeat, "Alright, alright... Ms. Goodwitch, we'll play _fair_."

Weiss scoffed at that. The Schnee knew that the word "fair" wasn't within the vocabularies of these two individuals. She unfortunately had the experience of being acquainted with the girl's for a long time, as they fell into the same social circle of "rich kids" that the trio were associated with. And considering that both of their family business' were notorious for their participation in various forms of crime, Weiss knew that "playing fair" wasn't part of their game.

"How distasteful..." Coco chimed,

Weiss let out a huff, "They're the daughter's of people who take part in organized crime... elegance and grace aren't really things that come naturally to them."

The former heiress held a small smile when she saw that the two most likely heard her comment, indicated by their glares. To push their buttons more, Weiss shrugged unapologetically which made the darker haired one of the two scoff. Behind the girl's Blake just shook her head, and tried to hide the expression of amusement that she held from observing the entire interaction.

Before anything could escalate, three long blows of a whistle rang throughout the gym, "Alright ladies! P.E is over, get ready for lunch!" Glynda barked. Weiss inwardly let out a sigh of relief, mostly due to the fact that she didn't have to deal with projectile dodgeball's flying at her at borderline deadly speeds any longer.

"Thank Oum..." the fashionista said

Weiss rolled her eyes, "You literally did nothing the entire time, Coco"

"Yes, and I was utterly bored since you had proven to be a useless conversationalist"

"Well _sorry_ for trying not to get decked in the face by a large red ball!" the heiress shot back

Coco shrugged, "well as long as you're aware of your faults..."

Weiss let out an exasperated whine and turned to face the approaching Cat Faunus, "Blake, help me out here!"

Blake stared at her friend indifferently, "Too hungry to care. Lets go eat lunch."

Weiss just gave her an incredulous look, but then opted to not bicker with their feline friend. The former heiress knew from personal experience that a hungry Blake was almost as fearful as a 'physically-fight-for-my-opinion' Blake. She visibly shuddered at the thought of the starving, raging Cat Faunus but then her thoughts were interrupted by the blaring sound of Glynda's whistle. The three girls cringed at the intruding sound,

"Belladonna, Schnee, Adel! Pick up the pace, the student's from the athletics class are ending their gym session soon and you guys only get the first 5 minutes to change!"

"Yes Ms. Goodwitch!" the heiress exclaimed as she roughly dragged their fashionista friend towards the change room,  
with Blake following after them,

Said fashionista huffed, "5 minutes isn't nearly enough to change..."

"Well we have to make do. The more physically-inclined half of the class will be taking over soon" Blake stated

Weiss hummed, "ah yes, the poor jocks that got here on a scholarship"

"...this is why you barely have any friends, Weiss." their feline friend pointed out

The former heiress just indifferently shrugged at that. The girl was well enough aware of her abrasive personality; and became desensitized to the opinions of others. Most of the time she didn't mean to rub people the wrong way, it kind of just... happened.

With that, the three girls went on to the change room. When they finished changing back into their school clothes, they made their way towards the cafeteria, with a hungry Blake's stomach growling every 30 seconds. When they finally made it to their destination, Blake made a beeline towards the lunch line - nearly toppling over a couple of students that had the misfortune of being in her path. Her other two companions opted to get some lunch from the school's food store.

The hall where the cafeteria was in was an imposingly large area, with incredibly long stained glass windows adorned all over. There were long, mahogany tables placed throughout it, running the length of the large room. Some of the more obnoxious students grabbed their own tables and separated them from the original lineup. Weiss inwardly scoffed when she caught a glimpse of her assailants from gym doing the same thing with who she believed was Emerald's boyfriend, Mercury. She then frowned with disdain when she saw who the less than reputable trio was sitting with.

Coco let out a long whistle, "Cardin's really trying to get to town with our little _mafia princess_ "

Weiss' nose crinkled in disgust at the boy's name. She saw that he was trying to flirt with the dark-haired girl, but to no avail. Cinder just looked completely disinterested, and even annoyed at the brown-haired boy's attempt. However, when a certain pale, pink-haired T.A sauntered by, the mafia heiress perked up and smiled.

"Unless his male anatomy inverts to that of a female's, then Winchester doesn't stand a chance," Blake chimed with amusement.

Coco and Weiss laughed at that. Cinder's preferences wasn't any secret in their school. Despite that, Cardin was still disillusioned into believing that he had some sliver of a chance with the girl. Weiss' amusement increased when she saw that the girl completely ignored the brown-haired heir, and left him to talk with T.A Neo.

"You think she tastes as good as she looks?" their brown-haired friend asked, alluding to the T.A's ice cream-reminiscent disposition,

"Ugh. Coco, not now. We're about to eat," the former heiress began, "but I don't doubt that Cinder already did some 'taste testing' of her own."

From observing the way that the two women interacted, with Cinder leaning in a little too close to suggest the relationship that they had was merely friendship, the heiress' companions didn't doubt what she stated at all. The scene actually would have been endearing, if they didn't absolutely loathe the dark-haired girl.

"Let's sit down and eat before I lose my appetite"

The other two just silently agreed with Weiss, and they made their way towards the nearest vacant table. Plopping down onto their chosen eating space, the Cat Faunus wasted no time in devouring her fish-ridden lunch. Her companions followed suit, although they didn't eat with as much urgency as their feline friend. Weiss wondered silently why Blake was so damn hungry as they ate a pretty hefty breakfast during the morning.

"Slow down there, Blake. We don't want you choking and then coughing out a hairball, now do we?" the fashionista joked,

Their Faunus friend stared at Coco with narrowed eyes, "Don't you have some mommy issues to deal with?"

"Ouch, again with the mom jokes?"

"The cat jokes are worse and borderline racist," Blake retorted,

"Well... I did try to vent to a certain _Schnee_ but she was completely useless in the comfort department," the fashionista mock-pouted

"I've got daddy issues of my own to worry about, Adel"

To this Coco raised an eyebrow, "that you're willing to talk about?"

"Absolutely not."

The brown-haired girl shrugged, "figured as much."

"What _were_ you guys saying anyways?" Blake asked, "from where I was at the gym, I could see you talking the entire time." It seemed like Blake was utterly bored, and dying to talk to someone at the time. But, her standoff-ish aura prevented people from approaching her.

The Schnee waved a hand dismissively, "Oh Coco here was just whining about missed birthdays or something"

"I was venting to you about how some stupid school admission dinner was more important to Juliette than my ' _birthday or something'_ , Weissy."

Weiss groaned, "Ugh... crap. I forgot about that,"

"We were talking about it this morning with my mom, Weiss." Blake reminded her

"Well obviously, I wasn't listening. When is it?"

"Tonight." the fashionista answered,

The former heiress inwardly cried upon hearing this information. This 'stupid school admission dinner,' as Coco creatively put it, was actually called the Beacon Family Welcome Ball. Which meant that the socialite families of all the richer student's were going to be there; including Weiss' own family. She knew for a fact that her father wouldn't miss the occasion, despite self-proclaiming her disinheritance. Technically, according to Vale law she was still a Schnee. There was some law stating that minors weren't allowed to be excommunicated from their families until they were of age. It had something to do with decreasing the homeless youth levels in the city. And Jacques Schnee was all about keeping up appearances, regardless of his daughter's unique family circumstance.

"How lovely," Weiss sarcastically remarked.

Before the former heiress could stress out even more over the possibility of running into her family, a loud _crash!_ could be heard from the other side of the cafe hall. Everyone's heads whipped around to see what the commotion was. Well, everyone except Weiss who opted to put her head down on the table to try and drown out the world.

Suddenly a gush of wind flew by, along with the panicked, annoyed, and exasperated voices of three familiar-sounding girl's.

"Yaaang! you took way too long to get ready!" a high-pitched voice exclaimed

"Hey! It takes time to tame my luscious mane"

"Guys? Again with the running?- and Ruby! Believe me when I say that those so called 'limited edition _chocolate chip pie-cookies_ ' will _not_ be sold out" a third voice pointed out.

At this, Weiss inwardly gagged at the very thought of a cookie the size of a pie; or a cookie-flavoured pie; or a pie-flavoured cookie -wait what?

"Velv! how can you be so sure?" the first girl asked as their voices seemed to trail away with their receding forms.

The former heiress began to wonder in the back of her mind why those three voices seemed to be so familiar, but then her thoughts were interrupted by the musings of her two friend's,

"Weren't those the three that-?" the fashionista began

"Yes." Blake deadpanned.

"They really enjoy their cardio, don't they?"

Their feline friend laughed a little at that, "It would seem so."

"The Rabbit's pretty cute," Coco nonchalantly pointed out,

"...that 'Rabbit's' name is Velvet,"

" _Oh_ , so you're acquainted with the cutie?" the fashionista questioned; and even though Weiss still had her head on the table, she could tell that Coco was actually genuinely interested, even if the fashionista tried to play it off as nonchalant.

"She was a childhood friend I had when I lived back in Menagerie, I'm not sure if she remembers me thoug-"

Blake couldn't even finish her sentence, as the intruding sound of rampant footsteps became louder and louder; indicating that someone was approaching the trio. The former heiress was curious about the sudden interruption of her Faunus friend's thoughts, but then she suddenly felt the feeble tap of what she assumed to be a finger on the back of her head. She moved her left arm to swat away at the fool who tried to get her attention, but she hit nothing but air.

"Um... Hey?" a tentative voice said

" _Yes?_ " the former heiress all but growled. She still had her head on the table, so the sound came out muffled.

"I'm _kind of_ the person who _may have_ completely knocked you over this morning..."

At this, Weiss' head shot up and was about to give the girl hell, but her voice got caught in her throat. Piercing blue eyes connected with a rare grey tentative gaze. Weiss seemed to get lost momentarily in the rarity of the girl's eye colour; really, it was absolutely _gorgeous_ to the former heiress as she had never seen anyone with grey eyes before. The girl seemed to shrink under the white-haired heiress' scrutiny, and held her right hand at the back of her head in slight embarrassment.

Suddenly, she heard Coco cough from her left side. The former heiress briefly glared at the fashionista, who seemed to hold an amused smile.

She then remembered the events of the morning, and then turned to smile _sweetly_ at the girl before her,

"Ah _Yes..._ and what do you intend to do to 'make it up' to me?"

At this, the dark-haired girl perked up slightly, "Oh I _know_ that you'll totally forgive me after I give you this!"

Weiss quirked an eyebrow at that statement. Unless the item that the girl seemed to be hiding behind her back was an official document outlining her freedom from the Schnee name, then the former heiress highly doubted it.

With great gusto, the former heiress' accidental attacker revealed said item with an excited and triumphant "tadaa!"

"Oh Oum..." the Feline Faunus blurted out with a fit of laughter; Coco, on the other hand, was guffawing at this point.

Presented before Weiss was a... _cookie pie._

The former heiress just blinked blankly at the girl in front of her, who had an expectant smile plastered on her face.

On top of the monstrosity of a dessert were the words ' _I'm sorry'_ in what seemed to be frosting, and the white-haired girl could see that a chunk of the 'apology' had been taken out. Indicating that the red-head had helped herself to a piece.

"I don't like sweets."

To this, the red-head doubled back in shock,

"WHAT!?"

 **AAAAAND there you have it ;) The ending of the chapter's super abrupt, I know :P But... at least the girl's are starting to interact now, amirite? Anyways, leave reviews and tell me what you think! Or give me a comment of a hilarious one-liner joke you know. I need to add on to my repertoire of puns/jokes to bring hell to the people around me. I honestly LIVE for those things xD**

 **Welp, see you next chapter!**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello Hello lovely readers, 'Tis MediocreWriter presenting to you another chapter. The girl's are finally interacting in this one! I hope y'all enjoy it :P Also, I love you all for following/favouriting/reviewing the story :D It's super encouraging and I stiilll wanted to let you guys know it means a lot to me.**

 **Now... without further ado,**

 **Here's Chapter 5 mi compadre's :)**

Weiss stared at the distressed red-head in dismay; who in return, gave the former heiress an incredulous look of her own. A part of the former heiress thought the girl's dramatics were somewhat entertaining, but then she remembered the statement that she said to elicit such a response.

She then concluded that the ordeal was rather stupid.

She rolled her eyes at her _so called friends_ , who were beside themselves in laughter. Coco held a hand on Blake's shoulder so she wouldn't topple over in a fit of giggles, and Blake was wiping tears from one of her eyes.

Out of nowhere, the other trio's sunny-looking friend materialized beside the shocked red-head, and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder to try and comfort her,

"Rubes... the liking of sweets isn't a universal outlook," the girl playfully pointed out,

"But what kind of _monster_ doesn't enjoy sweets?!" 'Rubes' exclaimed,

The former heiress huffed at that accusation, "Well I'll have you know... R-Rubes?"

The red-clad girl giggled, "Ruby. Ruby Rose, but you can call me Rubes if you want."

"Well... _Ruby_ , I'll have you know that sweets make me sick!"

Ruby flailed her arms in exasperation and then pointed a finger accusingly at the white-haired girl, "listen, missy! I don't know what sugar has personally done to you, but you have _no ri-_ OWW!"

The red-head yelped in pain at the sudden assault from the blonde, who smacked her on the head.

"Yang, what the heck was that for?!" the girl yelled,

"I think she means that sweets literally make her sick. Like health-wise, Ruby."

The redhead just let out a long 'oh,' and then rubbed her head in embarrassment while giving the former heiress an apologetic smile. Weiss was incredibly confused at this point, and didn't even know how to react - she was still trying to process the situation before her.

Suddenly, the girl named Yang flashed a friendly smile and held what looked like a gloved hand towards the confused girl, "Well... if we're still introducing ourselves, I'm Yang Xiao Long! Ruby's older sister"

"Half-sister," the redhead interjected, "but my sister all the same,"

Weiss stared at the blonde with uncertainty, and then got up from the table and semi-reluctantly went to shake her outstretched hand. When she made contact with the yellow-haired girl's hand, she was surprised with the sensation of cold, hard metal. Without realizing it, she stared at the limb with questioning, curious eyes.

"Oh! Right..." Yang began,

She then rolled up her sleeve to reveal a black and yellow prosthetic that made up her right forearm. Upon close inspection, Weiss could see that there were intricately designed yellow outlines that ran the length of the limb; and that the metal seemed to be made out of a type of iron-dust stone base. The former heiress then concluded it was a high-quality bionic arm.

With a feeble smile, Yang began to wiggle her fingers and balled her hand up in a fist as a small demonstration of the limb's ability, "Lost it in an accident a couple of years ago... won't get into details now. But Hey! It still works just like any other arm!" the yellow-haired girl exclaimed,

"I-I didn't mean to-"

Yang waved at the girl dismissively, "Nah... don't worry about it. It's pretty normal to be curious about stuff like this."

The former heiress just smiled awkwardly at that statement as some form of agreement to it. She then readied herself for an introduction of her own,

"Well... Yang, I'm pleased to meet your acquaintance. My name is Weiss Schnee."

Upon revealing her identity, Weiss watched in semi-interest at the dawn of realization being displayed by the sisters' facial expressions. Yang held an expression of impressed shock; while Ruby held one akin to fear and horror. She then herself was surprised by the sudden abrupt movement of Ruby's body. In a flash, the red-clad girl knee-jerkingly bent down in a bow as an apology to the former heiress.

"Oh my OUM! I am so sorry, I didn't know who you were! If I did I would've been sooo much more careful!" Ruby blurted out.

Weiss was slightly taken aback by the girl's sudden urgent apology but nevertheless was pleased that she showed some form of remorse for basically tackling her,

"Yes, well as long as-" Weiss tried to get in, but Ruby was still encompassed in what seemed to be fear.

"Please don't hire a hunter or huntress to come after us! Or intricately stage our deaths! or-"

Weiss got slightly insulted by the red-clad girl's assumptions and held a hand to her chest in mild disbelief, " _Why_ would you think I would-"

"Or, OR sabotage our Moms' weapon business! Oh Oum, especially that. They lov-"

"Shut it, Dolt!"

Although the demand was directed at the blubbering red-head, everyone in the former heiress' immediate vicinity followed her order. Yang observed the girl's reaction with an amused smile, while Weiss' companions stared on with silent mirth. Ruby shot up, and held her mouth in a thin line; staring wide-eyed at the now fuming former heiress in front of her. Then suddenly, the red-clad girl cracked a lopsided smile and was consumed by a fit of giggles.

To this, Weiss became flabbergasted and she gave the now giggling girl a look of utter confusion.

"I'm sorry, but did you just call me- pffttt!... a dolt?" the redhead asked in between giggles,

Before Weiss could reply, she felt a hand being placed on her shoulder. When she turned to see who attempted to give her the gesture, she saw that Yang was giving her an understanding and apologetic look.

"Rubes here is a jumpy, weird little thing. Befriend at your own risk."

Ruby uttered an insulted "hey!" at the statement, and then indignantly crossed her arms while wearing a pout. Weiss would never admit it out loud, but at that moment she thought the girl looked outright adorable when she made that expression. Yang then turned to face the white-haired girl's two friends, who had long since ceased their laughing fit. Instead they were observing the interaction with interest.

"And who are you two cuties?" the yellow-haired girl asked with a wink.

Blake jumped a little and flushed slightly at the prompt. Mostly because the yellow-haired bombshell was basically staring directly at the Cat-Faunus while she did the tiny gesture; and flashing her a beaming smile. Weiss stared on in amusement at the girl's reaction, as she could never recall a time when their feline friend seemed so flustered,

"I-I, heh... umm-,"

Weiss could see that a familiar mischievous glint formed in the fashionista's eyes, who decided to tease their feline friend, "This cute kitty's name is-"

"Coco, _what_ did I say about the stupid cat jokes?"

The brown-haired girl shrugged innocently, "that they're super cute, and you absolutely love them?"

The Cat-Faunus rolled her eyes, " _No_ that they're borderline racist, and I absolutely _loathe_ them..." She then turned to face Yang, and then gave her an awkward half-wave, "Umm... Yeah. I'm B-oomff!"

Everyone stared in wide eyes as the girl's introduction was interrupted by a brown-clad Rabbit Faunus all but ramming into the Cat-Faunus, enveloping the girl into a hug.

"Blake!"

After getting over the initial surprise of the Rabbit Faunus smacking right into her, Blake gladly returned the girl's embrace and smiled warmly, "Hey Velvet."

The Rabbit Faunus named Velvet then pulled back, but kept the Feline girl at arms length while examining her, "Oum, Blake. You've gotten so _tall_ and _pretty_ "

Blake replied to the observations by playfully rolling her eyes, and ruffling Velvet's hair, "and you haven't grown one bit"

Velvet huffed slightly at that, "Hey! I take offense to that considering the last time I saw you I was ten,"

Coco then interrupted their reunion by letting out a monosyllabic cough. When realizing the suggestive position they were in, Blake and Velvet jumped out of each other's arms and flushed slightly. The fashionista then walked over to Blake's side and wrapped an arm around the Cat-Faunus' shoulder in what could be considered as a borderline headlock,

" _Well_ there Blakey. If I didn't know any better I would've thought that you and your cute rabbit friend had a history together,"

Blake rolled her eyes at the assumption, "I _told_ you she was a childhood friend, Coco." Upon the remembrance of this fact, the fashionista blushed briefly at her actions but then turned to face Blake's 'cute rabbit friend'; who reddened immediately at the girl's gaze.

Coco then flashed Velvet a brilliant smile and gave her a playful wink, "Well... in that case, my name is Coco Adel."

After the fashionista's incredibly unsubtle attempt at flirtation, the Rabbit Faunus' face blushed in it's own entirely new shade of pink/red; which she horribly covered with her rabbit ears as an attempt to hide away her own bashfulness. "Ummm... Yeah," Velvet muffled behind her ears, "My name's Velvet Scarlatina."

Weiss jumped a little when the two sister's didn't even bother to contain their laughter from this interaction. She then saw that Velvet opted to get out of her self-made barricade, and give the two girls an annoyed look,

"Smooth, Velv" Yang playfully teased,

"Shut up Ya-"

"Unlike her name," Ruby chimed in

"Wha-? Ruby!" Velvet whined.

The former heiress smiled empathetically at the Rabbit Faunus, as she knew what it was like to have friends that played annoying games with her own name. Weiss couldn't count on both hands how many times either Blake or Coco would say "Bless you" whenever she would angrily throw around her last name. Her annoyed thoughts at her sometimes insufferable friends were interrupted by the sudden musing of her more fashionably-inclined friend,

"So... to get back to the _problem_ at hand..." Coco began, "What _do_ you intend to do to make it up for our little _Ice Princess_ , Ruby?"

Upon being suddenly addressed to by the fashionista, Ruby paled when she remembered what she had done to the former heiress. However, at this point Weiss really didn't care anymore about the whole ordeal; if anything, she thought that dealing with the hyperactive girl would be more troublesome. The white-haired girl observed Ruby as she held an expression of contemplation after she got over her fear. Suddenly, the girl perked up,

"Are you guys going to the Welcome Dance or Ball-thingy tonight?" the red-clad girl asked,

Weiss tilted her head in confusion, "Yeah, it's mandatory. Why?"

"Well... maybe after, or during if it gets too boring, I could treat you to some real food? Like dinner? And if you're into weapons and that kind of stuff I could ask Ma or Mom if I could give you a discount on all our store's products... or something.." Ruby feebly suggested,

Yang playfully dug a finger into Ruby's cheek, "oooooh, are you asking her on a _date_? Bold move, Rubes. And you _just_ met her too"

At this assumption both the former heiress and the redhead immediately flushed. Ruby went to smack Yang on the arm, but the yellow-haired girl dodged the attack with ease while giggling like a happy fool.

"Shut up, Yang!"

She then turned to Weiss, "I totally wasn't asking you on a date! Not like I _wouldn't_ want to date you-, wait I mean-!" If it were possible, Weiss flushed an even deeper shade of red; rivalling the colour of Velvet's face when she was embarrassed by the fashionista's flirting. Unfortunately, Weiss didn't have any Faunus appendages of her own to hide behind.

"Uh- Like, what I mean to say is: my half-assed way of apologizing to you with the pie-cookie was totally not acceptable! And, uh someone as high-standing and pretty as you- UGH, I mean- mffh!"

Weiss interrupted the babbling girl by literally shoving her hand on the girl's face. The former heiress had her head tilted down, while covering her own face with her other hand as an attempt to hide her increasing embarrassment at the outright unintentional compliments that the redhead was giving her.

"Umff.. Weischh?" Ruby asked behind the former heiress' hand.

Weiss then tilted her head up, and spread the fingers on both of her hands so that the two of them could make eye contact,

"Ruby... Dinner sounds fine. Just _please,_ shut up..." the girl half-begged. She was used to being criticized by others, not complimented. And the unabashed way that the redhead was doing it made Weiss not know what to do with herself.

All the while this was happening, Coco and Yang were thoroughly enjoying the play of events and were straight up laughing at the girls. On the other hand, Blake and Velvet held expressions of both entertainment and sympathy for both parties.

Before Ruby could reply to the former heiress, the sudden ringing of the warning bell could be heard. At this abrupt sound, Ruby's eyes widened slightly in fear and she whipped her head away from Weiss' hand. The white-haired girl jumped at the swift movement and immediately recoiled from the girl's jumpiness.

"Crap! I can't be late for class!" the redhead exclaimed as she jerked her head towards the corridor. She then whipped her head just as fast back to Weiss, "So, uhhh Dinner tonight!" and before the other girl could respond, Ruby was gone in a flash; leaving the her to wonder what the _hell_ just happened.

"Fucking _Oum_ , Ruby. It's just the damn warning bell..." Yang muttered as she looked towards the rapidly receding form of her little sister,

"Yang, what else would you expect from the girl?" Velvet asked with exasperation,

Yang shrugged, "heh, guess that's true. This is typical Ruby-behaviour," she then turned to the trio, "I guess we'll be seeing each other later on tonight," she stated as she flashed them yet another beaming smile.

Coco returned the smile and gave the yellow-haired girl a wink of her own,

"It's a date."

 **Aaaaand Scene. Lol the upcoming chapters will include more one-on-one sessions between the featured ships. This was more of an introductory kind of thing. But I hope you guys enjoyed it! Lemme know what you think!**

 **Also just wanted to let you know:**

 **Ma= Raven  
Mom = Summer [She is ALIVE in this fic dw ;)] and they both will be making their debuts soon ~**

 **Anyways, Until next time!  
MediocreWriter. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Well hello again, you adorable human beings. I'm back again with another chapter for y'all :) I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story!**

 **Chapter/Reading** Guide:  
 _Italicized paragraphs =_ flashbacks/talking on the phone  
Normal text = present  
 **Bold = MediocreWriter telling you how much she loves you all. Which is a lot. :P**

* * *

Blake stared at her reflection for one final time before coming to the conclusion that she was satisfied with the way she looked. She followed suit with the black and white party theme of the Family Welcome Ball, and opted to don a simple but elegant full-length black evening gown. The dress itself had a V-neckline that went down enough the front of the dress to still be considered as modest, while also exposing her shoulders. The back of the garment also had a similarly placed deep V-line that ran down its length that would give onlookers a good view of her smooth, tanned back. There was also a slit on the bottom left side of the gown that started mid-thigh and went down; which did a good job in revealing her toned legs.

As for her hair, the Cat-Faunus decided to go with a simple up-do. Essentially, the girl wore her hair up in a neat, high ponytail and let two long strands of her hair down near the front of her head to help shape her heart-shaped face. Overall, she thought the look seemed flattering and was satisfied with her choices.

Suddenly, her ears twitched at the exasperated grumbling of a certain Schnee; who was currently in the Cat-Faunus' room getting ready for the event. Blake turned her head towards the former heiress, and was thoroughly amused by the sight before her. For a girl who was insistent that 'tonight was _not_ a date,' she was making quite the commotion about getting ready for it.

"Stupid frizzy, silky-looking, keyword: _looking_ , white hair!" Weiss grumbled under her breath as she attempted to straighten her hair.

Blake laughed at the complaint, "Well, if you're straightening it as fast as you are right now, then yeah it's going to end up being a little frizzy, Weiss."

The white-haired girl then turned to face Blake, and gave her a pleading look. To this, Blake playfully rolled her eyes with a smile, and consented to the former heiress' silent plea. She walked over to the girl sitting at her vanity, then took the straightener from her hand, and began to do her work. For a while, they were both sitting in comfortable silence. Until the white-haired girl decided to pipe up,

"I-I, my face looks alright, right?" Weiss tentatively asked,

Blake stared at the girl's reflection with all seriousness. As she knew that the former heiress was referring to the scar on her left eye that was given to her by a bad memory. She then locked her gaze with the girl before her and gave her a sincere smile,

"You look amazing, Weiss."

Weiss returned the smile with gratitude, "Thank you, Blake."

The Cat-Faunus then pretended to look to the side nonchalantly, "Ruby will probably think so too..."

The white-haired girl flared at that, and then turned her head to look directly at her Feline friend, "I did _not_ ask you what that jumpy redhead was going to think!"

"First: turn back around. I'm not done with your hair yet," Blake ordered as she forcefully whipped the sitting her back around to face the vanity, "and Second: you have _nobody_ fooled princess; especially with the way that you handled her back at lunch."

"I handled her appropriately!"

Blake gave the girl a pointed look, "Weiss... you smacked your hand against her face."

"She just _wouldn't_ shut up.."

"So shoving your hand in your face was the correct answer?"

The former heiress flushed slightly at that, "I- agh! No! but the things that she _said_ were just so-!"

"The things who said?" a third voice suddenly chimed.

"Fuc-, Kali!?"

"Hey, Mom."

Both the girls then turned towards the Belladonna Matron. Albeit Weiss had whipped her head around in shock at the sudden intrusion, whereas Blake just calmly addressed her mother as she heard her coming towards the door thanks to her sensitive hearing. However, upon facing the older Faunus woman, both girls were silenced by the sight presented at Blake's bedroom door.

Before them, was a very well-groomed Kali Belladonna.

The Matron of the house decided to make her debut to the Welcome Ball by wearing a slick, form-fitting black tuxedo. Under the tux jacket, she wore a white-collared long-sleeve that had a neatly placed bow-tie at the collar. The suit jacket and white long-sleeve shirt that she wore were elegantly rolled up to the older Faunus woman's forearms. In doing so, she revealed a set of tribal Feline-Faunus tattoos that the woman had since her adolescent years. She also wore a pair of short, black capris slacks to top off the outfit.

As for her facial features, Kali decided to apply a light layer of foundation, and winged eyeliner with some dark brown eye shadow. The eye makeup perfectly complemented the woman's golden-flecked eyes, and accented her feline features. Her overall look did an incredible job in making her seem like she was a cunning being. And, although Kali had never participated in any form of deceitful behaviour, Blake thought that her mother went for the look to create a slightly domineering aura. She knew that the ball that they were about to attend was going to attract guests who had a rather unfavourable opinion about the Belladonna's; so she also knew that her mother had to make face for herself.

But overall, her mom looked well... _hot._

Blake let out a long, low whistle, " _Wow_ mom, you look great!"

"Yeah, I agree with Blake, Kali. You look very dapper," the former heiress added.

"Oh be quiet! you two are making me blush."

The younger Cat-Faunus playfully rolled her eyes at that. She knew that her mom was well aware of her own good looks, and was just acting bashful towards their comments. Blake then observed as her mother went to walk towards the full-length mirror in her room, and continued to watch as she adjusted an already perfectly assembled bowtie. At that moment, the young Cat-Faunus decided to tease the woman,

"Jeez, mom. Is there someone at the Ball that you're trying to impress?"

For the briefest moment, the older Cat-Faunus blushed at the imposing question. However, it went as soon as it came, but it didn't go unnoticed by her daughter. Blake watched in semi-amusement as Kali attempted to compose herself. Who then suddenly flashed her daughter a well-rehearsed smile,

"My darling, I dress _to_ impress. Everyone, that is," the woman began, "and as rightfully so, everyone should have the chance to see me like this."

"Ugh... your humbleness is very becoming of you, mother." the younger Cat-Faunus sarcastically remarked,

Kali winked, "that's the goal, sweetie."

Blake just rolled her eyes at her mother's antics, and then finished what she was doing with Weiss' hair. She nodded with finality, and satisfaction at the girl's reflection, and then went to unplug the hair straightener. She heard the white-haired girl utter a small 'thanks,' to which the Cat-Faunus just silently smiled back to in response. Blake then opted to sit and wait on her bed while both her mother and Weiss were getting the finishing touches of their apparel done.

"If we're still on the topic of _impressions_..." Kali suddenly began, "who is this _Ruby_ that Blake mentioned earlier?"

To this prompt, Weiss groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, " _Nobody_ , Kali. Please don't press me on this,"

The older Cat-Faunus woman lifted a curious eyebrow at the girl, and then expectantly turned to her daughter for some answers. In response, Blake mouthed the words ' _it's not just nobody_ ' at her mother, who then gave the child a smile and another wink of her own. The entire interaction did not go over Weiss' head, and she scoffed, "you both are literally carbon copies of one another..."

"I could say the exact same for you and your mother"

Weiss laughed uneasily at that statement, "I doubt it."

For a moment, Blake saw what seemed to be a flash of sympathy enter into Kali's eyes; but she soon replaced the look with a warm gaze towards the former heiress - who was still sitting at the vanity. The Belladonna Matron then walked towards the girl and placed her hands on Weiss' shoulders from behind her. She crouched down, to level her head with the former heiress', and stared at the girl's reflection with a smile.

"Well, believe me when I say that you're the spitting image of your mother. Weiss, you look beautiful."

The white-haired girl smiled sweetly at the older Belladonna, "Thank you, Kali."

The sudden vibration of Blake's scroll on the vanity interrupted the warm moment that the two were having. Weiss went to grab it, and then saw the familiar display of Coco's name flashing on the screen. After showing Blake who was calling, she gave the former heiress the 'okay' to answer it. She promptly answered the call and put it on speaker. Blake could see that Weiss opened her mouth to greet the fashionista, but was beat to it.

 _"You know, there's a stark difference between being fashionably late and obnoxiously late, right?"_

Weiss scoffed, "the Ball only started about 45 minutes ago, Coco. No one actually goes to these on time."

The fashionista returned the scoff, _"you would be surprised, Weissy."_

"Why are you there so early?" Blake asked. If anything, she thought that Coco would actually be there way after them,

 _"Oh you know Juliette... she jumps at the opportunity to hog good publicity; and what doesn't scream sentimental more than a practical high school reunion?"_

Both Blake and Weiss just _hmm'd_ in understanding at the rhetorical question.

"Wait, Juliette is _actually_ going to this ball?" Kali suddenly questioned,

" _Oh! Hey Ms. Belladonna! Also, yes. My mother is attending this event."_

"Ah- Hello, Coco! And I would've never thought that Juliette would go back to our Alma Mater; seemed like she thought she was too good for it whenever she talked about it."

 _"That's a thought that we both share, Ms. Belladonna. I'm just as surprised."_ Coco mused,

"It would appear so. Also, please Coco, call me Kali."

The fashionista chuckled, _"Will do, Kali."_

"So..." the former heiress began, "will we be able to spend time with you during the Ball? I know that your mother is here and all,"

 _"Oh don't worry Weissy, we'll be able to meet. I've already gotten the mandatory pleasantries done with Juliette after the first twenty minutes of being here, and haven't seen her since. So I'm pretty sure she won't even notice that I'm gone."_

Blake saw that her mother frowned at the girl's acknowledgement and resignation of Juliette's lack of caring, "Well, Coco. You're welcome to sit at a table with us, if you'll delight us with the pleasure of doing so," the older Faunus woman stated.

 _"I'll take you up on that offer, Kali_ "

Kali smiled, "Wonderful! We're actually heading out now. So we'll see you there soon."

 _"Alright! I'll see you guys in a bit!"_ the fashionista exclaimed. Shortly after, the _blip!_ of the girl's phone could be heard, indicating that she had just hung up. Kali then lifted her hands from Weiss' shoulders,

"Shall we?" she asked as she gestured to the young girls,

They both smiled in return,

"Let's go, Mom."

"Yeah let's get this night over with," the former heiress added.

"Then... off we go." Kali said as she made her way out of Blake's room. The two girl's just stared at each other briefly, and then followed suit.

As they were walking toward's her mother's parked car, Blake could feel the anxiousness and dread enveloping the former heiress beside her. If it was from the possibility of interacting with her parents, or from the upcoming mandatory meet-up with a certain redhead, Blake couldn't tell. But the Cat-Faunus just smiled deviously at the thought.

Weiss wouldn't think that they'd let her forget about the whole ordeal, would she?

* * *

Upon arriving to their school, the former heiress could feel her anxiety rising with each step that she took towards the Banquet Hall. Well, it was actually Beacon's school auditorium; but with the way that the hall leading up to the imposingly large room was decorated, she could already tell that they wouldn't be able to recognize it. Weiss continued to take in her surroundings and noted that the grand hall that the three women were currently walking in was decorated with items that stayed true to the black and white theme of the event.

Before them was a rolled out, slick, black velvet carpet that led to the large doors of the auditorium. At the edges of the carpet were massive vases that held beautiful arrangements of black and white roses within them. Weiss could also see that there was a large banner that hung in front of the doors that led to their destination; upon inspection, the girl could make out the words, 'Welcome! Families of the Esteemed Students of Beacon Academy!' printed in calligraphy.

As they neared the Banquet Hall, Weiss could distinctly make out the sound of classical music being played from the inside of the room. At this, the former heiress' anxiety spiked yet again at the possible events that might play out in her near future. Most of which either involved a dreadful interaction with her father, or an unpredictable one with a certain hyperactive redhead.

Either way, Weiss wasn't ready for them.

The girl's anxious thoughts were suddenly interrupted from the musings of a certain Belladonna woman; who was feeling rather sentimental about being back at Beacon Academy,

" _Wow_... this place hasn't changed one bit since I've been here!" Kali exclaimed with nostalgia

"It must've stayed this way for a long time then," Blake mumbled,

"Watch it, Blake,"

"Yeah! Leave Kali alone. Let her reminisce about the 'good ol' days,'" Weiss chimed in.

Blake laughed at that, "You make her sound like Professor Port,"

" _Please_ don't compare me to that man," Kali said with slight disgust, "Although sweet, he was incredibly annoying, and when we went here he would _not_ shut up about his rugby endeavours,"

"He still doesn't stop talking about them," Weiss informed the woman.

In response to that statement, Kali made a face that embodied the word ' _yikes,'_ and the two girls just laughed at the expression that she made. The Faunus woman smiled at the girls and then turned to the imposingly large doors that led into the makeshift Banquet Hall. Weiss hadn't even noticed that they were right there, and could feel her anxiety seeping back in. Before they entered the room, the former heiress felt both of the Belladonna women place a reassuring hand on each of her shoulders.

Weiss took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She then nodded her head to show the two women that she was ready to face whatever lied beyond the door before them. Kali took this as a cue to open them, and for a moment the three women were taken with the renovations that the school made with the auditorium. The former heiress' thoughts about how the large Hall was going to look like were spot on; she could barely recognize the place.

What used to be rows of red-velvet auditorium chairs were replaced with evenly spaced round tables, covered with either black or white table cloths; it also seemed that there were at least ten to twelve seats per table. The centre-pieces were slick ivory-styled statues of indecipherable objects. The middle of the Banquet Hall held what Weiss assumed to be the dance floor or the socialization area; where people could do just that, socialize. But what had caught the former heiress' attention was the massive chandelier that the school had installed on top of the social area. It nearly covered the length of the dance floor, and held what seemed to be an endless amount of candles and light crystals. It was beautiful, really.

Weiss then noticed that upon opening the doors to the entrance, the three women gathered a number of onlookers. Some of which gave them a look of disdain when recognized; and others were either indifferent or curious. Suddenly, a grubby old man tapped on Kali's shoulder and expectantly cleared his throat. The former heiress' eyes widened in realization from what this man wanted, and barely suppressed her groan.

Weiss scowled, "A _fucking_ announcer..?"

Blake shared the same distaste for the man's role, "It would appear so."

"They might as well serve us on a platter to be devoured by the less than _kind_ people here."

"I don't think a certain redhead would mind that," Blake began as she smiled, " _devouring_ you, of course."

The former heiress immediately flushed at the statement and turned to the Cat-Faunus to give her an incredulous look,

"Dammit, Blak-!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" the announcer suddenly bellowed. Both Blake and Weiss recoiled at the abrupt and loud volume of the man's voice; Kali, on the other hand, watched on in amusement as the girls then scrambled to compose themselves once again before the announcer continued.

"Please welcome the most esteemed, Kali Belladonna! Along with her daughter, Blake Belladonna; and of course, Weiss Schnee!"

Their introduction earned a mild applause from the onlookers before them. And once the announcement was over, everyone resumed to what they were doing beforehand. However, Weiss noticed that there were a couple lingering gazes from several of the Matrons of the families that were attending the Ball. Specifically to a certain, tux-clad, Cat-Faunus woman who incidentally seemed to be enjoying herself. The former heiress watched in entertainment as Kali divulged in the attention of the women and winked at one of them. Weiss' amusement then increased when she heard Blake do nothing to suppress her groan,

"Ever the flirt, mom," the Cat-Faunus girl uttered as she rolled her eyes,

Kali kept smiling, "I have _no idea_ what you mean, my dear daughter."

Weiss just giggled at their banter, but then her attention was brought to a singular _ding!_ coming from her scroll. She pulled the device out of her mini-purse and then saw that Coco had left her a message. She promptly viewed the message that was asking the girl where the three women were in the room, and swiftly responded by telling the fashionista that they were still relatively near the front entrance. Not a moment later, the said fashionista materialized in front of the three, wearing a flattering fit-and-flare, navy-blue evening gown. And as always, it looked amazing on her.

" _Wow_ Kali, you look _hot!"_ the fashionista exclaimed,

"What are we? a sack of potatoes?" Weiss asked with an eye roll.

Coco jokingly looked over the other two with disinterest, "I _guess_ you two clean up well too,"

"Please, for the love of Oum, stop flirting with my mom. You're indulging her,"

The fashionista just raised her arms up in mock-defeat, "as you wish, Blakey."

"So," Kali piped up, "should we go an secure a table? or have you already done that for us, Coco?"

"Ah-! yes, I've already got us a table," the questioned girl responded as she began to lead the way to said table, "with a certain jumpy redhead, and fiery blonde too." she added with a wink, specifically towards her two friends.

Weiss and Blake both flushed slightly at the last comment that the fashionista made, but nevertheless followed the girl to their destination. While taking their short walk, Coco gave the three a general rundown of what they missed. So far, all of the "big-name" families have already made it; with the Belladonna's themselves being the last of them. The more well-known families included: the Winchester's, the Arc's, the Niko's, the Fall's, the Adel's, the Belladonna's, and finally the Schnee's. Weiss felt a sudden sense of dread at the information; because it meant that her mother and father were there. However, she was determined to not let that domineering man get in the way of her night.

Well... at least that's what she told herself.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a certain grey-eyed redhead; who seemed to have materialized out of absolutely nowhere. To the sudden imposing figure coming out of thin air, Weiss made an inhuman, guttural noise of utter shock and jumped back with a defensive stance. She could hear her friends snickers from her side, and assumed that Kali was just watching with amusement at the interaction.

"Dammit! You spastic, freak! Is there not a bell that you could ring before you go up to me, Ru- wha?"

Weiss couldn't even finish her sentence because she realized that the woman before her was indeed, _not_ Ruby. Well, it looked like Ruby. Had the same eyes as Ruby; even the same hair and perpetually-plastered smile. Although Weiss had to admit that the person did look like an aged version of her. She was also well-dressed, wearing a princess-style white, fit and flare gown.

" _Vi_? is that _you?_ Oh my gosh, you look like you haven't aged a bit!" the woman exclaimed as she inched closer into Weiss' personal space. At this point, Weiss was leaning uncomfortably back to avoid colliding with the Ruby-reminiscent woman's body. The former heiress was about to answer the woman, but was beat to it by Kali,

"Summer, that's her _daughter_ and her name is Weiss," Kali pointed out with a smile.

The woman named Summer then whipped her head towards the Cat-Faunus woman, and let out an excited squeal. Before anyone knew it, she was by Kali's side, and trapped the Belladonna Matron in a bone-crushing hug. Kali returned the hug happily, and began to laugh,

"It's good to see you too, Summer."

"Oi! Paws off my girl!" another voice demanded.

Weiss, Coco, and Blake turned their heads towards the voice in curiosity, and found a classily-dressed woman playfully glaring at Kali with her hands on her waist. The said woman had an uncanny resemblance to a certain blonde that they've just befriended; but the difference between the two were their hair and eye colours. The woman before them had a long mane of black hair, and dark red eyes. Whereas Yang had a sunnier disposition, what with her vibrant yellow-hair and lilac eye colours.

The former heiress then turned her head back towards the other two women, and her jaw mentally dropped at the sight that she was presented with. Kali had an arm snaked around Summer's waist, and held a playful glint in her eyes. Summer, on the other hand, was flushing slightly and had an expression of both confusion and bashfulness at the sudden proximity of the Belladonna woman. Weiss could also see, that on one of her sides, Blake literally had her jaw dropped and held an expression of utter confusion. Coco seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

"She won't be, after _tonight_ ," Kali playfully stated.

The other woman then stalked up to the Belladonna, and towered over the Cat-Faunus woman. For a moment, they were in a standoff-ish battle of glares. That is, until Kali broke character and began to laugh - to which, the black-haired woman followed suit with Summer joining in. The three girl's were just staring in a mixture of confusion and amusement at the three laughing women. After their laughter died down, Kali greeted the dark-haired woman warmly with a hug,

"It's been too long, Raven. You still look as _alluring_ as ever." To this, Summer uttered a 'Watch it' towards Kali, but was dismissed by a pat on the head.

"I'll say," Raven replied, "although, with your never-changing flirtatious ways, I would've thought that you were still a seventeen year-old piece of shit,"

Kali just shrugged innocently at the statement, "What can I say? I've got a lot of love to give,"

Raven rolled her eyes at the Faunus woman, "Don't you have some love to give for a certain Sch-"

" _Anyways,_ " Kali suddenly interrupted as she gave the dark-haired woman a pointed glare, "Where are my manners? Let me introduce you to my daughter and her friends." She then gestured the three girl's over to the women, who welcomed them with friendly smiles.

"This, right here is my daughter, Blake."

Upon being introduced, the Cat-Faunus just gave the two women an awkward half-wave. In response, Summer and Raven smiled in acknowledgement.

"And this, is Juliette's daughter, Coco."

Coco flashed them a smile, "It's a pleasure,"

"And finally - you've already borderline assaulted her, Summer," Kali began, "this is Weiss, Viktoria's daughter."

Weiss smiled sweetly at the two women, "It's nice to meet you tw-"

"Hey Weiss!" a familiar voice suddenly interrupted,

Weiss jumped at the sudden intrusion, and her 'sweet smile' turned into a borderline sneer as she turned towards the all too familiar hyperactive redhead.

"Wha- Dammit, Ruby!"

Everyone laughed.

* * *

 **BOOM. Ending.**

 **LOL yeah I'm really bad with these abrupt endings I know. But I hope you guys are still enjoying the story! Keep on letting me know what you guys think about it :P So far, I've been getting some pretty encouraging feedback. I know not too much happened in this chapter, but it mostly served as an introduction for both Summer and Raven (who are incredibly freaking cute by the way; there honestly should be more fic's about them, amiright?).**

 **Aaanyways, Until Next Time!  
MediocreWriter.**


	7. Chapter 7

Weiss and the rest of the women listened intently with mirth to the story that Ruby and Summer were telling the group. Which was specifically about the way the Rose-Branwen's were 'announced' to the Family Welcome Ball.

"It was _so_ funny!" Summer began, "I guess Raven didn't hear me when I said that we had an announcer for ourselves becau-"

"I thought you said _we_ had to announce ourselves!" Raven groaned as she held her head against the table in sheer embarrassment.

Yang just placed a comforting hand on the black-haired woman's back, but still had an expression of pure entertainment plastered on her face. Kali, on the other hand, was trying - and failing miserably - to suppress her laughter at the presumed next actions that she _knew_ Raven most likely took in the story. Then there were Blake and Weiss who fared better than Kali, but still held incredibly amused smiles and anticipated the following events of the tale. However, Weiss noticed that the only one who seemed like she was half-listening to the story was a certain fashionista; who was most likely waiting for a very absent Rabbit-Faunus.

"Anyways," Ruby continued, "So Ma takes that as some kind of cue to literally _kick_ the doors to the entrance open and, I kid you not, _everyone_ in the Banquet Hall jumps from it,"

"Then, guess what happens next," Summer challenged with a grin.

Everyone just looked at the redhead's expectantly; barely being able to suppress their laughter any longer. Well, Raven still had her head on the table with her arms sprawled all over it in absolute defeat, with Summer offering her a hand to hold which she semi-gladly took. And even Coco was listening intently at this point.

"She freaking _bellows_ our names! Like, doesn't even properly _introduce_ us. She just, with no context _at all_ , cups her hands to her mouth and stated our names!" the younger red-head exclaimed with a fit of giggles.

Upon revealing the incredibly embarrassing action that Raven had done, everyone at the table was suddenly consumed by laughter. Even Weiss herself was laughing out loud at the story. The former heiress imagined that many of the guests were probably utterly baffled by the dark-haired woman's actions, because it was pretty unprecedented to even occur at an event like this.

Raven groaned yet again and then whipped her head up from the table, " _Why_ would you tell them this?! Especially Kali. She's _never_ going to let me live this down."

"Oh you've got that right..." Kali confirmed as she wiped a tear from her eye, " _Raven Branwen_!" she bellowed with cupped hands as if she were the dark-haired woman during the story. This earned another round of giggles from the women, and maybe an attempted punch in the arm from a certain dark-haired one; which the Faunus swiftly dodged.

As she was coming down from the hilarity of the situation, Weiss then noticed that her table was receiving rather unfriendly stares from the majority of the people around them. The former heiress didn't exactly blame them, as they were being somewhat obnoxious; but honestly, she didn't really care. She was having a great time despite where she was.

Yang and Ruby's mother's had proven to be great company for the night. They were funny, kind, and made the three girls feel extremely welcome. They chatted about many things; most of which were about old memories that the three older women shared during their own time at Beacon. They've discovered, with mild surprise, that during her adolescence Kali was somewhat of a delinquent and playgirl - well, they weren't really surprised about the latter what with the woman's horrible tendency to flirt. When the girl's questioned the women about Kali's 'conquests' the older Cat-Faunus vehemently told Raven and Summer to not say a word.

But regardless, Weiss was genuinely enjoying herself. She was so used to adults chastising or criticizing her that she completely forgot that people like Summer and Raven existed. She slightly frowned at the preconceived notion that she developed towards adults as a result of her upbringing, but her musings were suddenly interrupted by someone 'bopping' her nose with their finger.

"Something the matter, Weiss?" the 'nose-bopping' assailant asked,

Weiss swatted at the girl's hand, "No, I'm fine Ruby. Why do you ask?"

She turned her head to face the girl but then felt a familiar warmth slowly reach her cheeks. Ruby had her head leaning on her right hand, and was just _staring_ unabashedly at the heiress with a ghost of a smile plastered on her face. The sincerity behind those silver eyes made the former heiress internally squirm and suddenly, Weiss found it very hard to keep eye contact with the girl.

"It's nothing really. I was just thinking that your smile was super beautiful and that your frown doesn't really sui-"

" _Jeez_ Ruby, get a room would ya?" Raven's voice interrupted; her remark was followed with what seemed to be a smack on the head to which the dark-haired woman uttered an 'ouch!' to. Weiss wouldn't know because she was diligently staring down at her lap, cursing her cheeks for betraying her composure. She then chanced a glance at the younger redhead girl, and saw that her eyes slowly widened in realization,

"Oh my Ou- did I just say all of that out loud?"

This question, be it rhetorical or not, was followed by laughter. In response, Ruby sinked down into her chair in embarrassment. Weiss, on the other hand, inwardly groaned at the ordeal and wondered _why_ Ruby found it so easy to give out compliments just like that. Did she not know how ridiculously cheesy they sounded out loud? Was she just one of those people who offhandedly said what was on their mind? Weiss was then annoyed at the next thought that she had...

Did Ruby just give _anybody_ compliments?

The former heiress' thoughts were interrupted yet again by the redhead; who abruptly perked up and leaned close to the still slightly blushing girl. Weiss tried to lean away, but was blocked by Blake who was on the other side of her. She gave the Cat-Faunus an apologetic look, but it didn't seem like the girl minded at all. If anything, she looked like she was enjoying herself as she watched the interaction between the two.

"Gosh, I'm sorry Weiss! If I'm not paying attention enough I'll just say what's on my mind, and I guess your smile was on it, and there's also the fact that I get _suuper_ nervous when I'm around really attractive and pretty people and I just end up stammering like an idiot and babbling on and on to fill in the silence when it gets really awkward because of my weird word-vomit kind of like now and-"

" _Oum_ , Ruby. If you say anymore I think our little white princess is going to implode," Yang interjected

Blake then poked at Weiss' head, "See? Her blush is reaching up to her ears,"

Then Ruby, much like Raven, slammed her head down on the table in embarrassment with an unceremonious _thud._ Weiss slightly winced at the sound because even the tableware and cutlery _clinked_ as she dove onto it.

 _"Why_ am I so _laame_ "

Yang giggled, "Aww, Rubes! Don't think of your awkwardness as a negative. If anything, it's part of your charm!"

"It's more like she inherited it from her mother," Kali remarked as she took a sip of wine,

"I was _not_ that bad!" Summer stated as she pointed at her daughter. The said daughter then shot up and pointed an accusatory finger right back at the older redhead,

"So it's _your_ fault!"

"Wha-? No it's not!"

"You only have yourself to blame, Kiddo" Raven pointed out as she defended her wife.

"Well can you guys really _blame me!?_ I mean _look_ at her," Ruby began as she gestured wildly at the former heiress; who reddened even more at being suddenly addressed in such a way, "She's like, the very definition of Atlesian beauty! You are part Atlesian, right? Wai- never mind, don't answer that it's beside the point! As I was saying: I _can't_ be the only one who gets all stupid and flustered whe- Agh!"

Weiss interrupted the girl yet again but shoving, rather roughly, a hand against the girl's cheek to push her face away. This caused the hyperactive girl to have her neck at an awkward position, but Weiss didn't care. The former heiress didn't think that she could handle any more of the redhead's babbling and _needed_ her to stop. As Yang put it, she was literally about to implode from the rapid expulsion of praise that she was getting from Ruby.

"Oh my freaking _Oum_ , stop _talking_ you stupid dolt..."

Raven and Summer abruptly guffawed at the way in which Weiss handled their daughter, "Oh my gosh, and she's _exactly_ like Vi!" the redheaded woman exclaimed,

"What was the name that the Ice Queen would call you, Kali?" Raven asked as she turned to the Belladonna, "It was similar to what Weiss here said but I can't remember the exact term,"

Kali smiled, "It was _dunce_. She would call me a dunce."

For a moment Weiss gave the three women a questioning gaze, but it went away as soon as it came. By the way they were referring to her mother, they made it seem like the four of them were really good friends. Especially with the nickname that they gave her, which was very reminiscent to the name that people would refer to Weiss as. She never knew about her mother's past as she kept those memories buried deep within her mind. On the rare chance that Weiss would actually interact with her mother and ask about her Academy days, Viktoria would just dismiss the girl. So, whenever people would tell the former heiress that she resembled the woman, she wouldn't really know how to react. She barely knew her.

"Um.. Weiss? My neck is still bending at a position that it _really_ shouldn't be bending at?"

To this, Weiss swiftly retracted her arm from the girl's face and flushed yet again.

"you're on a roll tonight, Weissy!" a certain fashionista said as she wiped an imaginary tear from her eye,

Weiss whipped her head around to face the brown-haired girl, "Don't you have a certain _Rabbit-Faunus_ to be pining after?"

The fashionista's face reddened slightly at the question and she tried to recompose herself, "I don't know what you mean _._ " the girl stated, with an unconvincing shaky voice.

"Oh _Please_ , Coco," Blake interjected, "every time the doors have opened, your head would whip around to see who it was like a puppy,"

"Don't act like you haven't been making _eyes_ at a certain blonde the whole night, Blakey" Coco retorted,

It was Blake's turn to blush at the sudden accusation, "I have _not_ been-"

"I won't deny it." the mentioned blonde interrupted.

"Yang, what the hell!?"

The yellow-haired girl shrugged and gave the Belladonna a wink, "What? I don't blame you."

Blake just face-palmed and Weiss could hear that she muttered something about ' _the stupid fucking flirtatious women around her._ '

"Oh, and Velv won't be coming tonight." Ruby suddenly mentioned. Weiss could see that the fashionista visibly deflated upon hearing this information,

"Aww, why not?" the brown-haired girl whined.

Ruby rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, "uhhh, I'll just say this since it's not exactly my place to say; but she's not here mostly due to family circumstances so she was excused from the 'mandatory-ness' of the Ball, and she's working right now at her waitress job."

The fashionista just nodded silently at the redhead's words but then perked up, "She works at a restaurant, right?"

Ruby tilted her head, as she probably thought that the fact was assumed, "Um, yeah. Why?"

Coco turned to face Weiss, "Well you _were_ promised a dinner from our little redheaded friend..."

Their said 'redheaded friend' began to blush in remembrance at the proposition that she made for the former heiress. She then started to laugh nervously, "Ohhh right, I did promise something like that,"

"You didn't think that we'd let you forget something _so important_ , did you? Weissy?"

The addressed girl just smiled with vehemence at the fashionista, "not in a _million years_."

In reality, the former heiress wanted to kick the brown-haired girl from beneath the table, but she didn't want to risk hitting anyone else in the crossfire. She inwardly rolled her eyes at the obvious incentive that the fashionista had for suggesting that they relocate to a restaurant where a certain Rabbit-Faunus was currently working at. She then looked around the table to see if anybody minded the proposition, and unsurprisingly it seemed like nobody did. Even the adults seemed like they were okay with it. At least, Weiss assumed that they were coming.

"Oh thank _Oum_ , does that mean we're going to leave now?" Raven asked,

"Yeah, I'm starving. This rich, big-wig food isn't filling at all," Yang added.

Summer just shook her head at the two women, "Yes, that means we're leaving now. And us adults will get our own table at the restaurant so you guys can have your double date in peace,"

"Awww yeah! Go wingman mom!" Yang exclaimed as she went to high-five Summer. Her mom just smiled at her yellow-haired daughter and high-fived her back.

Blake, Ruby, and Weiss, on the other hand, immediately flushed at the older redhead's assumption and simultaneously sputtered out protests towards the woman,

"It's not a date!"

"It's _not_ a date!"

"I wasn't even asked on a date!"

Coco and the others at the table began to laugh at their reactions, and that was when Weiss decided that she had enough. The former heiress abruptly stood up, which resulted in her chair being shot backwards, "Let's just get this ni-"

"Oomf!"

Weiss' eyes widened at the new voice and she turned to face the person that she accidentally assaulted. The former heiress then went up to them without looking to see who it was and began apologizing profusely.

"Oh my goodness, I apologize sincerely fo-"

She was about to finish her apology, but then she recognized just _who_ she rammed her chair into when she decided to look up. Weiss then didn't feel the need to apologize at all. Her apologetic expression transformed into a steely glare in a matter of seconds when she addressed the man before her.

Calculating, steely blue eyes connected with piercing, resentful similarly-coloured ones.

"Hello, _father_."

 **Man I am on a** ** _roll_** **with these abrupt endings, aren't I? Anyways, that was chapter 7 guys! I hope y'all enjoyed it as much as I did while writing it. Keep letting me know what you guys think! (P.S. has anyone binged the new season of OITNB yet? Omg it was** ** _soooo_** **good!)**

 **Until next time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I present to you: Chapter 8 :P Have fun giggling at it, my dear readers. I know I did. xD**

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Kali was having a wonderful time at Beacon's Family Welcome Ball. Although, she had to admit that she was extremely nervous about seeing old faces again. However, despite her initial worrisome thoughts, it turned out to be a great and memorable experience. Bumping into Summer and Raven was the highlight of her night, and a massive wave of nostalgia engulfed her as they chatted about old memories. She hadn't seen her two best friends in so long, and she was glad that they were a part of her life again.

So, to say that seeing a certain _Jacques Schnee_ put a damper on her night was a wild understatement. She could barely keep the frown off her face whenever she was in the deplorable man's presence. Everything about the him screamed of vanity, patriarchal power, and unadulterated pride. Anyone could see the pride that he held for the Schnee name (which wasn't even is own) in the way that he dressed that night.

There he stood, towering over the women, in a crisp, form-fitting white suit. The suit itself helped shape the slender man's body, and it's pure colour did an excellent job in making him stand out. Although, the way in which he grabbed everyone's attention was more imposing, rather than out of admiration. He also wore a royal blue tie to put the outfit together, and matched it with a similarly-coloured handkerchief in is suit jacket pocket.

"Hello, _father._ " the young white-haired girl, more or less so, greeted with a glare.

The man gave his daughter a look of disdain, "Is that any proper _way_ to greet someone? Weiss, I know it has been a year, but you couldn't have possibly already forgotten the fundamentals of civilized human interaction,"

Kali slightly cringed at how jarringly deep the man's voice was.

She then heard Raven scoff, "We don't want to hear anything about civilized human interaction from _you_ , Jacques."

"I do believe that I was speaking to Weiss, Ms. Branwen." Jacques began, "but now that I'm seeing who the girl keeps company with, I am now not surprised by her behaviour."

Kali could see that Raven was about to shoot up from her chair at that remark, but swiftly blocked her from doing so and roughly pushed the woman back down. The dark-haired woman gave her a questioning, incredulous look but Kali just responded with a look of warning. As much as she would love to see Jacques get clocked in the face, she didn't want to make a scene. This wasn't exactly a 'bar-fight' type of environment.

"If we are going by that logic, _father_ , then I too am not surprised by the behaviour that _you_ exhibit."

The man's eyes quickly shot back at his daughter's in anger, "You disrespectful, _insolent_ littl-"

"Jacques, is there a problem here?" a third, but painfully familiar voice interrupted. Kali could feel that her ears flattened in nervousness at the anticipation of interacting with the woman who the voice belonged to. This didn't go unnoticed by her two friends as she felt Summer place a comforting hand on top of her knee from under the table, and saw that Raven was giving her a supportive look. The Cat-Faunus woman then let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding when the woman emerged from behind Jacques.

Kali's heartbeat quickened at the sight of the woman before her. A ghost of a smile began to form on her face as the white-haired woman still held some of her adolescent looks; with the exception of one or two wrinkles under her eyes. Regardless, she was absolutely _gorgeous,_ and the Cat-Faunus didn't mind at all how her updo exposed her smooth, milky shoulders and neck.

"No, everything is fine, Viktoria." Jacques rudely answered, "I'm just conversing with _your_ daughter."

Kali noted the practical accusatory and disrespectful tone that Jacques had towards his wife, but ignored the anger that bubbled within her chest. She then observed as Viktoria turned to face her daughter and saw that the white-haired woman briefly held an expression of relief. However, it flitted away quickly and was replaced by a well-rehearsed, obligatory smile,

"Ah- hello, Weiss." Viktoria greeted,

Kali and the others could see that Weiss' shoulders relaxed slightly, but the girl still held a tense composure around Jacques. She then turned to her mother and greeted her back appropriately, "It's good to see you, mother." Nobody knew how sincere the girl's words were, but Kali was glad that she was at least on good enough terms with Viktoria to be greeting her without being rude.

"How have the Belladonna's been treating you?"

Weiss then gave the woman a well-rehearsed smile of her own, "Well, mother why don't you ask them that yourself?" she said as she gestured to their table.

The woman then did just that; as she was politely addressing the girls with small, but acknowledging smiles, Kali could feel her heart hammer inside her chest. When the woman finally got around to the Belladonna woman's part of the table, her heart then stopped.

Suddenly, apprehensive, golden-tinted eyes met with surprised, light blue ones.

For a moment, Kali felt like time stopped between the two as they gazed into each others eyes. She could see that a storm of emotions swept through the Schnee Matron's face in a matter of seconds. But, before either of the women could say anything, their little moment was interrupted by a couple of coughs elicited by the two women beside the Cat-Faunus.

Viktoria slightly jumped at the sudden sound and turned to face them. However, her eyes widened even more so in surprise when she realized who they were. The Schnee began to sputter a greeting, but Kali figured that she couldn't properly find the words due to shock. Hell, even Kali herself wasn't expecting to see the two women at all that night.

Summer just smiled at the Schnee Matron, "Hey Vi! long time no see, eh?"

"Her _name_ is Viktoria, Ms. Rose." Jacques suddenly interjected. He then gave Viktoria an unimpressed look,"and she _should_ be old enough to properly address people without stuttering like a fool."

Kali could see that Viktoria was going to say something to the man, but was interrupted by the older redhead who was swishing around the wine glass in her hand, "Ah- all this _proper_ -talk about greetings is subjective to the one who's being greeted, right? and I say that I quite enjoyed _Viktoria's_ greeting."

She then stood up from her chair with her glass in hand, "and I shall greet her back with a most _sincere_ hug! I mean, if she will allow me, of course."

Viktoria just silently gave Summer a thankful expression and smiled genuinely for the first time that night, "I would love that, Summer." The redhead then happily squealed and made her way towards the Schnee Matron. Kali then saw that Raven went and poured herself another glass of wine.

The Cat-Faunus raised an eyebrow at this, "Raven, that's your fourth glass this night, are you sure?"

"Oh, this cup isn't for _me_ ," the dark-haired woman remarked deviously.

Kali furrowed her brows in confusion at the woman's words. She wondered if Raven was going to offer Viktoria a glass of wine, but if anything she thought that Summer would be doing the task as she already had a glass in hand while she was walking towards the Schnee Matron. Then, as she pieced their actions together, Kali's eyes slowly widened in realization at the almost _painfully_ stereotypical trope the two women were about pull. She then abruptly turned back to the dark-haired woman beside her and gave her a warning glare. Raven just winked at the Cat-Faunus woman in return,

"Raven, _don'-!_ "

The Cat-Faunus couldn't even finish her sentence, as she was welcomed by the sensation of warm, sticky, sweet-smelling strawberry wine literally being splashed all over her. Kali held her arms up on both her sides and just stared down at the very _pink_ stain that the wine left on her previously very _white_ shirt. She then huffed in annoyance because the shirt was _fucking expensive_. The Cat-Faunus woman then briefly glanced at the Schnee Matron and saw that she was in a very similar situation, but with a large pink stain adorning a very expensive-looking, white dress.

"whoopsies, I tripped!"

"Whoops, my hand slipped."

Kali almost outright growled at the dark-haired woman and her pathetic attempt at being inconspicuous. She was about to make an angry remark towards the Rose-Branwen pair, but then was interrupted by a sound of _pure_ exasperation being let out from a livid Viktoria Schnee. Kali's ears flattened in fear as the sound didn't even resemble anything _human_. Everyone in their immediate vicinity then gave the woman concerned looks; Well, Raven and Summer's expressions were more akin to fear than anything. Their children, on the other hand, held expressions of utter confusion; especially Weiss.

" _Son of a_ bitc- Oum _dammit_ , Summer! This dress was _white_ , and _fucking expensive!"_ the white-haired woman all but screeched.

The majority of the women at the table recoiled slightly at the jarring sound, but Kali's mouth threatened to twitch upwards at the familiar behaviour that the Schnee Matron was showing. The addressed redhead, however, shrank slightly under the wrath of the Schnee and held her hands up defensively, "I told you, I tripp-"

"Like _hell_ you tripped!" Viktoria interrupted as she crossed her arms indignantly and stomped a foot on the floor, "on _what?_ the _flat_ , fucking ground!? You know, for a woman who was the captain of the damn track team, one would _think_ that you would've figured out how to walk properly on flat, _fucking_ terrain!"

The redhead huffed at the statement, "Hey! Even when I _was_ on the track team I _still_ tripped on flat ground! So, ha!"

"Good for _you_ , Summer." Viktoria sarcastically remarked, "Thank you, for also completely missing the point,"

Summer then turned to her dark-haired counterpart and pouted, "Raaven she's being _really mean_!"

Raven smiled and swatted at the air dismissively, "Don't look too much into it, Babe. It's just typical _Ice Queen_ behaviour,"

The said _Ice Queen_ then turned ominously towards the dark-haired woman; who also seemed to shrink from the intense _rage_ emanating off of the Schnee.

"Don't call me that _stupid_ damned name, _Branwen_." Viktoria seethed.

At this point, Kali's shoulders were shaking out of hilarity from the events that played out before her. Throughout the entire interaction she had to bite down on her lip to prevent herself from laughing inappropriately. However, when Viktoria decided to turn her face and make eye contact with the Belladonna woman, she then suddenly couldn't contain her mirth any longer and outright guffawed at the situation. This earned the woman a couple of confused looks, and an incredulous expression from a certain Schnee Matron, but Kali didn't care.

The woman huffed, " _What_ is it that you find so _fu-"_

 _"_ Is there a problem here?" a new and sultry voice questioned.

Yet another familiar figure emerged from behind the Schnee man; however, the woman the presented herself before them wasn't as well received as Viktoria. Even Kali's laughter immediately ceased when she recognized her. The pale woman then snaked a perfectly manicured hand on Jacques' chest, while completely ignoring the rest of the women in her immediate vicinity. The Cat-Faunus could hear that the Schnee Matron barely did anything to suppress her groan; but nevertheless addressed the new figure,

"There was just a little _mishap_ in mine and Ms. Belladonna's apparel," Viktoria answered as she gave Summer a pointed glare, "But we are handling it, Salem."

Salem then briefly regarded the woman with a condescending smile, "Well, with the almost _obnoxious_ way that you were making a commotion, I would say that you were handling it quite _poorly_."

Jacques laughed snobbishly at the remark, "I'll say."

"Why don't you compose yourself once more, Viktoria," the pale woman suggested as she smiled seductively towards the man, "I'll... _take care_ of your husband here."

Jacques just smiled back at the woman with equal enthusiasm and then regarded his wife disinterestedly, "I will see you later on tonight. Hopefully you will be more... _decent_."

Salem let out a jarring laugh at the last remark that the Schnee head made towards Viktoria as they both walked away, arm in arm. Soon enough, the snobbish pair left their field of vision and effectively left the group with a foul taste in their mouths. Kali could feel that her blood boiled with rage at the outright insults that they were making towards the Schnee Matron; who held an unreadable expression for the duration of the entire interaction.

She then heard Viktoria let out the _deepest_ sigh that anyone of them has probably ever heard. Nobody could really tell if it was out of relief or exasperation, but either way the Schnee Matron just looked _tired_ from the whole ordeal. Viktoria then, rather roughly, wiped a hand across her face and then turned abruptly towards her daughter. Upon being suddenly addressed, Weiss doubled back from the woman.

Viktoria gave the girl a confused and questioning expression, "Weiss? What's wro- OUCH!"

"Oh, so you _are_ real."

The Schnee Matron just rubbed the part of her arm that the child pinched, and gave her daughter a baleful look, "What the _hell_?"

Weiss responded by flailing her arms in exasperation, "That's _my_ line, mother!" The former heiress then gestured wildly towards the Rose-Branwen pair as she kept eye contact with the woman, "What the _hell_ was that?!"

Viktoria scoffed, "Oh _please_ , Weiss. You can't possibly believe that you adopted your attitude from your _father_ ,"

"Well, I wouldn't _freaking_ know! Sure, everyone would tell me that we were one in the same but I didn't believe them _._ Oum, I didn't even think that you were capable of _expressing_ emotions until tonight!"

Kali could see that a brief expression of guilt flashed through the Schnee Matrons face, but it was then replaced by anger, "Well-!"

"Well," Kali interrupted before anything could escalate needlessly, "maybe you two have some catching up to do,"

The two women just stared at the Cat-Faunus woman. She then sighed, "Why don't we _all_ go out to dinner then? I mean after we change. We were going to the Red Reaper's anyways so-"

"The _Red Reaper's_?" Viktoria questioned, "there's no way in _hell_ that I'm stepping into that establishment ever again,"

Kali rolled her eyes, " _Vi_ , it really wasn't that bad! We used to go there all the time!"

"We went there maybe a handful of times, and then Raven started a bar-fight which effectively _banned_ us. Are we even allowed back in there?!"

"I guess we'll find that out once we show up," Kali stated as she gave the woman a shrug,

Summer suddenly materialized beside the Schnee, "Yay! Does that mean the adults get a double date too?"

To this, Kali could hear that Yang uttered an 'aww yeah, go wingman mom part two!'

Viktoria, on the other hand, immediately reddened at the thought of the dinner being a date, and glared at the redhead, "Summer you _insufferable_ little-!"

"You can call it _whatever_ you want, Vi" Kali interrupted with a wink,

In response Viktoria just huffed and looked away from the Cat-Faunus woman,

"You _dunce._ "

* * *

 **There you have it! Mama Schnee has finally been introduced! My goodness I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter xD I hope y'all are still enjoying the story. Get ready for some cute ass crosshares fluff that _will_ be coming soon. LOL**

 **Until next time,  
MediocreWriter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**What's up, you cuties! MediocreWriter here, just dropping chapter 9 for you :P Please pick it up, and read it. Also, I love you. For you know, picking it up and reading it.**

* * *

Coco glanced yet again at the hilarious getup that the Belladonna and Schnee Matrons were currently in. After the stunt that Yang and Ruby's mother's pulled, the two women had decided to quickly change into their respective daughters gym uniforms before heading to _The Red Reaper's_. Well, there was some resistance put up from the Schnee, but with patient coaxing from Kali the white-haired woman finally relented.

Upon seeing the Schnee Matron's outright temper tantrum back at the Family Ball, Coco concluded that Weiss _totally_ got the majority of her prissy attitude from Viktoria. The way the white-haired woman expressed her anger was eerily similar to the way that Weiss would get angry too. It was comical, really; especially when the fashionista observed the unfiltered way that the younger Schnee was gawking at her mother throughout the entire interaction. Coco had to admit that she forcefully had to bite down her laughter many times during the Schnee woman's tirade.

"Oum, it's freezing out here!" Viktoria suddenly exclaimed,

Summer giggled at the woman, "well, your daughter's gym uniform probably does little to help with that,"

"Oh and _whose_ fault do you think it is that I'm wearing Weiss' uniform in the first place, _Summer_?"

The older redhead just laughed nervously at the remark and decided to not press any further with the Schnee woman. She seemed like she was running on a short fuse that night, what with the public humiliation at the Welcome Ball and all. Coco and the others then observed one Kali Belladonna do a rather cute gesture for the cranky Schnee. The Cat-Faunus woman stripped herself of her tux jacket and went to wrap it around Viktoria's shoulders.

"K-Kali! you don't need to-!"

Kali silenced the woman by pressing the tux jacket down firmly on her shoulders, "Vi, it's fine. I'm not even that cold."

The Schnee woman just flushed silently and uttered a small thank you to the Cat-Faunus. Suddenly, Coco could see that the younger Schnee to her left also began to shiver from the cool air outside. This didn't go unnoticed by a certain redhead, who gave the girl a look of concern,

"Weiss? Are you cold too?" Ruby asked as she leaned, a little too close, to the Schnee girl.

" _No,_ Ruby. I'm just shivering with excitement at the prospect of going to a subpar restaurant" Weiss sarcastically remarked.

Ruby just giggled at that and then abruptly perked up. Coco could practically see the lightbulb form on top of the girl's head as she seemed to have come up with an idea, "Wait a sec! I'm gonna go grab something from Ma's truck!" In a flash, the girl was gone; but just as quickly she came right back, somehow managing to startle Weiss in the process. However, the redhead didn't come back empty-handed. The fashionista couldn't suppress her smile at the genuinely earnest way in which Ruby offered their little _Ice Princess_ a ratty, old, red hoodie. The said Ice Princess just stared at the article of clothing in Ruby's hand, and slowly inched away from it.

"Yeah, I know it's not exactly cashmere, but I promise that once you put it on it'll feel _super_ comfy! and warm! Also, I wouldn't want you to catch a cold or anything..." all the while she was saying this, the redhead had been rubbing the back of her head nervously.

The fashionista anticipated a snarky rejection from the Schnee, but it never came. Instead, much to the brown-haired girl's surprise (and amusement), Weiss slowly went to grab the hoodie from Ruby and put it on. As the white-haired girl zipped up the piece of clothing, Coco could see her visibly relaxing into it's warmth. The girl blushed,

"...Thank you, Ruby."

Ruby smiled goofily at the Schnee, "Heh, no problem, Weiss!"

"Yang, you're losing," Raven suddenly remarked.

Upon hearing this comment, Ruby lit up to a colour similar to the red dress that she wore, and wordlessly gave her 'Ma' a look of dismay. Coco then chanced a glance at Weiss who also had been affected by the statement, and was pathetically trying to hide her own flush with Ruby's hoodie.

Summer swatted at her wife, "Raven, it's not a contest!"

"Well if it was, she'd be losing."

Yang just smiled deviously, "Oh no I wouldn't!" She then abruptly stopped right in front of Blake; which effectively startled the Cat-Faunus girl. Everyone else stopped walking as well to observe what Yang had in store for the poor Faunus. The yellow-haired girl then spread her arms wide and expectantly looked down at the confused Cat-Faunus before her with a beaming smile,

"I know I'm not some jacket or hoodie buut," she paused and then gave Blake a wink, "my body heat will keep you warm."

Upon processing what Yang was suggesting, Blake immediately flushed and briskly pushed past the yellow-haired girl while speed-walking towards the general direction of the restaurant/pub. Coco could hear that the Cat-Faunus muttered something about ' _Stupid flirts_ ' as she continued to walk away from a genuinely confused Yang; the fashionista barely suppressed her laughter from her friend's reaction.

Yang shrugged and began walking again, "Meh, I've got all night"

"Well, you know what they _say_ ," Coco interjected, "Kitty Cat's _do_ enjoy things that are warm."

Yang laughed at that, "Thanks for the encouragement, Coco."

"No prob-"

"You want me to tell you what cute little bunny rabbits like too?" the yellow-haired girl suddenly teased.

The fashionista slightly flushed at the joke that Yang made, but then rolled her eyes when she heard Blake and Weiss laugh at her expense. She then composed herself and gave Yang a confident smile, "I think I can figure that out on my own,"

"Well you better," Ruby abruptly stated as she gestured towards them, "because we're here!"

Coco turned to the general direction that the redhead was gesturing to and barely could keep the unimpressed expression off her face. Before them was a rather dirty cobblestone path that led up to a shabby-looking brown building with two windowed double doors. Positioned on top of the entrance were the words ' _The Red Reaper's'_ in bright, red neon lights with the first 'R' in the title flickering every so often. The fashionista imagined that the other two of her trio were also exhibiting similar facial expressions upon finally seeing the establishment too.

"Okay, so the outside does look a _little_ sketchy but-" Ruby began,

"A _little_?" the former heiress interrupted, "Ruby, it feels like we're going to get jumped any second now,"

"Those were my first thoughts when I came here the first time too," Viktoria added,

Summer rolled her eyes, "Guys! Come on, don't be such... _Schnee's._ "

"I take offense to that," The Schnee Matron shot back.

Raven just pushed Viktoria towards the restaurant, "Could you get over yourself and just go in already? I'm actually starting to get cold out here!"

"Okay fine!" the white-haired woman relented as she pushed the other woman off of her, "I'd like to see you guys try to get in anyways. You know, since we were _banned_ from ever setting foot in this place ever again."

Coco could see that Raven also rolled her eyes at Viktoria, "That ban was placed like over a decade ago. Junior has probably forgotten _all_ about it by now."

Kali laughed at that statement, "I don't think someone forgets it when they get knocked out by a flying barstool being aimed specifically at them."

"He wouldn't stop his advances towards Summer!"

Viktoria scoffed, "So throwing projectile barstools was the answer?"

The dark-haired woman flushed and shoved passed the Schnee, "Ugh! I'm heading in first. You guys are starting to hurt my feelings,"

All of the women watched as Raven stalked up to the entrance and roughly pushed the doors to the pub open. They also watched, with absolute horror, a projectile barstool being whipped right at her just as she opened those doors. The woman's eyes widened in shock, and she swiftly dodged the attack by ducking right on time. Coco's mouth dropped as the barstool continued on in its trajectory and shattered upon landing on the cobblestone pathway. She then saw that the majority of the women had flabbergasted expressions on their faces; well, with the exception of Viktoria, who held an expression of knowing towards the dark-haired woman that screamed of the words 'I told you so'.

"What part of _banned_ do you four not understand?" a menacing, gruff voice stated.

Everyone's head whipped towards the mans voice and Coco almost visibly gulped at the bearded bar-owner's overbearing presence. There the 'Junior' man stood, towering over the women, with a white rolled up long-sleeve shirt and a black vest. The man wore black slacks and cheap-looking, brown dress shoes to top off the outfit. He also wore a nasty snarl when addressing the women too. Coco then wondered in the back of her mind how someone as seemingly timid, and sweet as Velvet could possibly work for such a _mean_ -looking man.

"Oh _come on_ , Junior! We're changed, _mature_ women now!" Raven exclaimed.

"Banned means _banned,_ Branwen."

"Wha- C'mon, you let our damn kids in all the time! and one of their friend's even works for you too!"

Junior raised an eyebrow at this, "Your _kids?_ "

Suddenly, Yang and Ruby materialized from behind the dark-haired woman. With the former giving the man a wink, and the latter giving him an awkward half-wave.

"Hey Junior!"

"What's up, Junior?"

The man doubled back in shock, "B-Blondie?! and Red?! "

The yellow-haired girl just gave the gruff man a charming smile, "Yup. and listen, I know that our parent's created a little mishap in the past-"

"a _little_? Blondie, Raven knocked me out cold for a couple of hours and when I woke up the entire pub was trashed. I think you're understating the shit that they pulled,"

"Details, details," Yang uttered with a wave of her arm, "as I was _saying..._ yeah, so our parents caused some collateral and property damage in the _past_ BUT _their_ actions shouldn't have to reflect on us, should it? Also, give them another chance! It's been like a tonne of years!"

Both Summer and Raven huffed at the last remark, but remained silent. Junior then crossed his arms in contemplation at Yang's words, still seemingly unconvinced of the yellow-haired girl's case that she was trying to build. Coco then observed as Yang quickly gave the younger redhead a look, and turned back to the man,

" _Junior_ , don't tell me that you have the gall to even refuse eyes like _these_ ," the yellow-haired girl challenged as she gestured grandly at her little sister.

On cue, Ruby gave the man the most adorable pout that Coco had ever seen. The redhead had her eyes bulged out the perfect amount and Coco swore that she could see them twinkling with feigned sadness. Ruby also had her bottom lip protruding and quivering ever so slightly at the man. The fashionista then saw that the 'tough, burly man' that was Junior visibly struggled against the redhead's charm. He then sighed and uncrossed his arms with a smile,

"Jeez, Red. You really know how to wear a guy down,"

Yang perked up, "sooo does that mean we're in?"

"Yes," Junior answered, " _but_ , if there's any funny business from _any_ of you, I won't hesitate to physically throw you all out myself." The man made sure to make a point of glaring at the older women when he declared the last part of his statement. In return, the women either rolled their eyes or scoffed; Coco could hear that Raven uttered an 'I'd like to see you try' under her breath.

"Thanks Junior! You're the best." Ruby exclaimed, "Also, is Velvet going to get off soon?"

"The Rabbit? Yeah, she gets off in about an hour."

The redhead then turned to Coco with a crooked smile, "Awesome! You get to see Velv in action then,"

" _Oh_ this is going to be _great_ ," Yang added.

Coco smiled in anticipation at the prospect of seeing the Rabbit-Faunus doing her job,

"I can already tell."

* * *

When Coco and the women finally set foot inside of The Red Reaper's, the fashionista had to admit that the interior of the establishment really wasn't that bad. It had a very authentic, rustic vibe to it without being too stuffy or sketchy. There were cushioned booths that lined up against the walls, with the exception of the back wall which held the bar. There were also wooden tables scattered throughout the pub, with various waitresses and waiter's bustling about. A rather cute decoration that the fashionista noted were various, differently coloured light-lanterns lowly hanging above the tables. It added more to the vibe that the pub created, and Coco quite enjoyed it's aesthetic.

The restaurant itself didn't seem like it was too packed, but there were still a fair amount of people around. Coco also noticed that they didn't have a greeter who would normally show them to their table, so she and the other two followed suit with the others' actions. Summer and Raven led them to a part of the pub that was relatively close to the bar, but not close enough to be in the presence of the rather rowdy individuals hanging about in that general area. The nine women then sat themselves down at two tables, situated right next to each other.

"Sooo... what do you guys think?" the younger redhead suddenly asked.

"It's no five-star restaurant, but I guess it's not too shabby," the former heiress replied.

"Sweet!" Ruby shot a fist up in the air in victory.

Coco smirked, "It's a little too early to be celebrating a victory for your _date_ , Ruby"

" _Date_?" The Schnee Matron questioned as she gave her daughter a curious look. In return, Weiss flushed to a colour similar to the red hoodie that she wore, and abruptly turned to face the white-haired woman sitting next to her.

"It's _not_ a date! It's just Ruby tackled me and-!"

" _Tackled?!"_

 _"_ accidentally!" the former heiress quickly added, "and she just wanted to make it up to me by...b-buying me.. dinner...," Coco noticed that Weiss had trailed off with her explanation. Probably because when it was said out loud the whole ordeal sounded exactly like the thing that she insisted it wasn't; which was a _date_. The fashionista then smiled at the way the girl had huffed,

"Ugh-, mother just... don't look too much into it,"

Viktoria raised a single eyebrow at her daughter's behaviour, but decided not to press on. Coco then saw that there was a trace of a smile, slightly adorning the woman's face.

"Where's our waitress? I'm flipping hungry!" Summer suddenly whined. The fashionista smiled at the woman's sudden childish outcry, but then saw a devious smile slowly creep onto the yellow-haired girl's face that was sitting next to the brown-haired girl.

" _There_ she is."

Coco turned her face to follow Yang's line of vision, but then her eyes widened and her jaw literally dropped at the sight before her. Currently _sauntering_ her way towards the fashionista's table, was a very sexily-clad Velvet Scarlatina. Her long, brown hair was slightly curled and gave her a "beach wave" vibe that really suited her (in Coco's opinion). The fashionista also couldn't help but notice the way in which the Rabbit-Faunus hips swayed as she walked, but what really caught Coco's attention was the girl's apparel. Before them, Velvet wore a tight, form-fitting, small black dress that stopped mid-thigh with black heels. Her outfit did a _very good_ job in showing off her milky, toned legs and left little to the imagination around her bust. The girl was currently emanating confidence, and sex appeal; which was a stark difference to the Rabbit-Faunus' usual timid demeanour.

"You're drooling, Coco." Blake abruptly teased,

The fashionista snapped out of her reverie and then glared at the Cat-Faunus, "I'm _not_ droo-"

" _Hey._ "

Coco nearly melted at the intonation of the Rabbit-Faunus' voice. Gone was the small, timid-sounding girl that the fashionista had initially grown accustomed to. She was replaced by a sultry, confident-looking woman who looked and sounded like she knew what she was doing. Coco then noticed that the girl wasn't paying attention to who she was addressing at their table, and still had her head looking down into her notepad. Then the fashionista's breath was momentarily taken away when the Rabbit-Faunus finally decided to look up from her notepad and gave her a crooked, seductive smile,

"What would you like me to-" the Faunus girl didn't even finish her sentence.

Velvet's eyes widened in shock when she realized just who she was talking to, and her rather sensual expression completely disappeared. Coco could sense the beginnings of a familiar flush, slowly creeping onto the Rabbit-Faunus cheeks; and all at once it engulfed the entirety of her face. Velvet then quickly scanned the entire table, and her eyes once again found their way back to the fashionista but with an utterly embarrassed expression.

"W-what the heck are you guys doing here?!"

* * *

 **Oh yeah y'all KNOW that the next chapter is gonna be Crosshares-heavy xD I hope you guys are still enjoying the story! Keep letting me know what you guys think in the comments/reviews! I especially love seeing what you guys think about what's going to happen next :D**

 **Until next time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	10. Chapter 10

**ahahaha oh my gosh sorry for the late-ish update! It was pride month and I went a little crazy with some of my buddy's xD Still trying to chill out from the excitement of it all. Anywayyys, without further ado: Chapter 10 Everyone!**

* * *

"W-what the heck are you guys doing here?!"

Due to the shocking personality gap between Velvet's work persona and her actual demeanour at school, Coco couldn't formulate a proper sentence for her life when she was asked a direct question from the Faunus girl. Instead, the fashionista was sputtering incoherent noises while trying _really hard_ to keep eye contact with Velvet. The way in which the Rabbit-Faunus imposingly leaned into Coco's personal space really didn't help her case. The fashionista then inwardly rolled her eyes at the sound of the muffled laughter elicited from the companions she had for the night at her table.

"Noo!" Yang whined, "What happened to sexy Velv?!"

The Rabbit-Faunus gave the girl a pointed glare, "You didn't answer my question, Yang"

"Blake and Weiss' mom's outfits were ruined, and the food wasn't filling enough so we left," Yang explained with a shrug.

"A certain brunette also wanted to see you," Weiss quickly added. Coco whipped her head around towards the former heiress' voice, and gave her an immense glare. The brunette began to open her mouth in protest, but the younger redhead interrupted her.

"You didn't think that we were actually going to stay there the entire time, did you?" Ruby suddenly asked,

Velvet huffed, "No! But I didn't think that you would come _here._ " She then crossed her arms, which did a very good job in emphasizing her _assets._ This made Coco completely lose her concentration and she ended up briefly staring at those very... assets, for a moment. This didn't go unnoticed by a certain Cat-Faunus, who decided to poke more at the fashionista.

"What was that about you not drooling?" Blake quietly remarked towards the brown-haired girl.

"I'm _not_ drooling, Blake!"

At Coco's unexpected outburst, everyone in her immediate vicinity gave her either confused or amused looks. The fashionista noted, much to her annoyance, that most of the expressions that she was receiving were that of the latter. She then feebly turned towards the Rabbit-Faunus in front of her and almost made an inhuman noise of adoration at how concerned she looked for her. Velvet's eyes projected genuine worry towards the brown-haired girl, and she had her mouth in a slight frown with her head tilted ever so slightly at the fashionista.

The said fashionista just face-palmed and looked away from Velvet, "I, uh- I'm just so _hungry_ that Blake here thought that I was drooling at the thought of finally getting food."

"Yeah," the former heiress interjected, "That's what she's hungry for: food."

Coco silently decided right then and there that she was going to _kill_ her so called 'friends,' and she didn't know if she was going to wait until the end of the night before doing so. She briefly gave both her assailants a look of angered exasperation, and huffed. The fashionista's inner musings were then interrupted by a certain Rabbit-Faunus, who suddenly seemed to have remembered that she was working.

"Oh! Shi- Right, umm... what can I get for you guys?"

The trio that was unfamiliar with the establishment stared at the two sisters expectantly; both of which just blinked blankly for a moment before realizing what they were staring at them for. For a brief moment, Coco noted that Ruby held an expression of panic but then suddenly Yang shot up a finger in revelation.

"Just get us our usuals! For um, everyone!" the yellow-haired girl exclaimed.

Velvet gave the girl a questioning look for a moment, but then wrote down Yang's order. She then turned to the elder women's table and asked them the same thing.

"I'll just have a lobster burger with a Mistrali Salad on the side!" Raven piped up,

"I'll have the same thing, but with a regular burger," Summer added.

Kali held an expression of contemplation for a moment but then perked up, "If you guys still serve Menagerian-styled fish fillet, then I'll have that Velvet."

Velvet smiled at Kali, "Yeah we still serve that Ms. Belladonna," she then turned to the Schnee woman, "and you ma'am?"

Viktoria mumbled something, but no one caught what she said. Even the Rabbit-Faunus seemed to have not been able to decipher what the woman mumbled. "Umm.. I'm sorry ma'am, but can you repeat that? I didn't quite get it."

The Schnee woman flushed slightly, "I'll have the.." she paused and then stared embarrassingly at the women at her table, "Grimm Burger..."

Coco saw that Summer gawked at the white-haired woman, "The Grimm Burger?!"

Viktoria just nodded in response, and looked away in embarrassment. The fashionista wondered in the back of her mind what kind of monstrous food it could've been if it elicited such a strong response from the older redhead. The younger redhead then perked up herself and beamed at the white-haired woman, "Hey! That's my usual!"

At this, Coco couldn't help but smile at the way the former heiress gawked at the younger redhead, similarly to how Summer did with Viktoria. It was probably assumed that Weiss was going to receive the same order as Ruby, and just by judging by it's name Coco could tell that the former heiress was in for a wild ride. It also seemed like Weiss herself was completely aware of that fact too.

Kali then laughed at Viktoria, "Jeez, Vi! How hungry _are_ you?"

"Quiet you! I haven't eaten all night! You know how it's basically _taboo_ for the Matrons of the houses to actually eat during those idiotic events,"

The Cat-Faunus tried to contort her expression to that of understanding towards the Schnee woman's words, but her shit-eating grin prevented her from doing so.

"Oh _please,_ Vi. Don't act as if the Grimm Burger wasn't your favourite dish when we ate here back in the day." Kali remarked. And, much to everyone's amusement, the Belladonna Matron proceeded to mock Viktoria by re-enacting some very _suggestive_ noises that the woman presumably made while she would eat her so-called 'favourite dish.'

The teasing caused Viktoria to whip her head around and glare at the Cat-Faunus; who in return, gave her a smug smile. This little act then led to the Schnee woman starting a little bickering fight with Kali - who was openly letting the woman know that she wasn't perturbed by her words at all. Instead, the fashionista noted that the woman also seemed to have enjoyed herself as she was in the midst of the Schnee Matron's pseudo-wrath.

Velvet, on the other hand, just jotted down their orders and awkwardly gave them a smile while slowly inching away from the interaction.

However, for a moment, Velvet's eyes reached their way back to Coco's and the fashionista saw that a brief expression of realization adorned the Rabbit-Faunus' face. Velvet then furrowed her brows in contemplation (which Coco found absolutely adorable), and then walked up to to her once again.

"Coco, will you be having Yang's usual? Or Ruby's?"

Upon being asked that particular question, Coco genuinely didn't know how to answer it. On one hand, there was Ruby's usual: The Grimm Burger; and the fashionista didn't know how she felt about it because of both Weiss' and Summer's exaggerated reactions. Then on the other hand, there was the unnamed usual that Yang chose. The brown-haired girl assumed that the redhead's sister probably had similarly outrageous taste in cuisine, and concluded that she didn't want to die a food-related death that night. No, both Weiss and Blake were on their own with that one.

Instead, Coco just stared right back at Velvet with expectant eyes.

"What would you suggest that I have?"

The Rabbit-Faunus' eyes widened in surprise momentarily, but her expression was then replaced with pure consideration towards the fashionista's question. Coco could practically see the gears turn inside of Velvet's head as she stood there thinking carefully about her potential dinner. She thought it was extremely cute how the Rabbit-Faunus seemed to care a great deal about this meal.

"She would suggest herself as an option, but she's not exactly on the menu," a certain yellow-haired _demon_ remarked.

This statement caused both of the brown-haired girls to immediately flush and gawk at the girl. Coco made sure to make a mental note of adding Yang onto the list of people that she was going to murder that night. The fashionista then saw Velvet give the yellow-haired girl an uncharacteristic glare; to which their assailant actually slightly cowered from.

The Rabbit-Faunus abruptly turned around to hide her growing blush, "Ugh! I'll just give her my usual then!" without another word, Velvet stalked away to get all their orders.

The fashionista raised an eyebrow at this declaration and gave the two sister's a questioning look.

"Do you like your veggies?" Yang asked,

"Specifically carrots?" Ruby added.

Coco shrugged, "I don't mind them, I guess."

The younger redhead then swatted the air dismissively, "then you'll totally like Velv's usual!"

The fashionista just turned her head and stared at the general direction that Velvet headed towards with apprehension. It's not like Coco had utter doubt towards the Rabbit-Faunus' taste. It's just that night seemed to have been filled with a plethora of surprises that Coco wasn't exactly prepared for. And she didn't know if she could eat anything that was akin to a 'Grimm Burger'; whatever _that_ was. A ghost of a smile then appeared on her face at the prospect of her friends trying to survive a food plate chosen by their respective partners for that night, and she was given perspective about her small predicament.

"I don't doubt that you're right."

* * *

Velvet angrily stalked towards the kitchen counter with her _friends_ orders in hand. Without thinking about it, she slammed the small piece of paper down onto the counter before her and effectively made their massive line cook jump. The boy just stared down at the Rabbit-Faunus with an amused smirk and took the orders from the abused counter.

"Jeez, Velv. What's got your bunny ears in a bunch?" her friend joked.

The girl just briefly looked back at the assailants that she had for the night, and then huffed at the massive boy, "Shut up, Yatsu!"

Yatsuhashi followed the girl's line of vision and his smirk widened to a full blown smile, "What did they do this time?"

"Unnecessarily play an antagonizing role of 'wingman,'" Velvet mumbled. The Faunus girl then looked up to see if her friend had heard her, but judging by his confused smile she assumed that he didn't catch what she said at all. She then saw that he chanced another glance at the tables where the nine women were situated at.

"The brown-haired girl is pretty cute."

Velvet automatically shot Yatsuhashi a glare, " _She's_ off limits, Yatsu. Back off."

Initially, the boy seemed to be taken aback from the Rabbit-Faunus' aggressive reaction. But then, his eyes widened in realization and he let out a deep throaty laugh.

"Does our little Velvet have a _crush_?"

"Ugh! Just go and get their orders already, will you!?" The Rabbit-Faunus exclaimed. In response, the boy just heeded to her order with his hands held up in surrender; however, he still had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face as he turned away from the girl. This made Velvet want to jump over the counter and wipe that very smile off his face, but she resisted the urge.

While waiting for her friend to finish making their orders, Velvet leaned onto the counter and her mind slowly drifted back to the events that played out that night. She wasn't actually genuinely mad at her friends; no not at all. For lack of a better phrase, she was just incredibly irked at their relentless teasing. In contrast to the behaviour that she was exhibiting, she wasn't even sure if she genuinely felt romantic attraction towards the fashionista. Although, Velvet had to admit that she felt physically attracted to the brown-haired girl; she wasn't going to deny that at all. And the way that the girl's dress that night exposed her shoulders and back almost made the Rabbit-Faunus outright drool. A ghost of a smile began to reach the Rabbit-Faunus' face when she knew that the physical attraction was somewhat reciprocated by the fashionista's reaction to Velvet's outfit herself.

Velvet was almost certain that Coco actually _was_ going to drool at the sight of her.

However, the girl's seemingly confident personality didn't exactly click well with Velvet. She knew who the brown-haired girl was immediately after she introduced herself. The Adel fashion line was a huge fashion empire not to be trifled with; so the confidence was probably a given for the fashionista. Regardless, the Rabbit-Faunus couldn't help but think that the girl's attitude was a facade - It just seemed forced to her but she didn't want to make any assumptions.

The more she thought about the fashionista, the more she became confused or apprehensive with how she felt about the girl. The Rabbit-Faunus' feelings were then interrupted by an obnoxious line cook.

 _ding! ding! ding! ding! di-_

Velvet smacked the line cook's hand and glared at him, "Yatsu, I will literally cut your hand off if you ring that bell one more time."

Yatsuhashi just smiled and winked at the girl, "Order up!"

The unnecessary loudness of his voice caused many heads to turn in their general direction. Specifically, the nine heads who's orders were just finished by Velvet's massive friend. The Rabbit Faunus just rolled her eyes at Yatsuhashi with a smile and then miraculously began to carry all nine plates towards her friends tables. It was probably comical to look at, really; but years being spent in the waitress/server business had honed Velvet's skills in the art of carrying around an absurd amount of dishes simultaneously. The Rabbit-Faunus currently had four plates balanced on each arm, and one on top of her head (that Yatsuhashi placed there). She could see, as she was approaching the table, that most of the women were gawking at this physically defying feat. Velvet just gave them an awkward smile, and swiftly began to serve each of the women their respective dinner's.

"Alright, three Grimm Burger's for Ruby and the Schnee women," Velvet announced. The three women uttered a 'thanks' in response; albeit Ruby's gratitude was a little more exaggerated, whereas Weiss' was more apprehensive.

"And a Lobster Burger and a Regular Burger with Mistrali Salads on the side for the Rose-Branwen pair,"

Raven licked her lips and rubbed her hands together, "Thank you Velvet!"

"Thanks sweety!" Summer also exclaimed.

The Rabbit-Faunus smiled fondly at the two women and uttered a 'your welcome.'

"A Menagerian-styled fish fillet for Ms. Belladonna,"

Kali smiled and raised a hand at the girl, "Thank you, Velvet. And please, call me Kali; we're not strangers." The Rabbit-Faunus returned the smile and nodded slightly at the woman before turning to the next pair who's orders she still had.

"Two Mistrali Fire-Dragon noodle plates for Yang and Blake.." when Velvet placed the red-hot dish in front of the younger Cat-Faunus, she could see the girl's ears flatten in doubt. The Rabbit-Faunus chuckled, "Don't eat anything before I get you a carton of milk."

"Don't forget my fire shot of Strawberry Sunrise too!" Yang added. Velvet playfully rolled her eyes but smiled in acknowledgement at the request.

The Rabbit-Faunus then reached for the top of her head and proceeded to hand the last plate to it's intended owner, "And finally, a Menagerian fruits and vegg- what the fu-?!"

Velvet couldn't even finish her sentence because of the idiotic arrangement in which her usual dinner plate was placed in. Rather than it's usual organized, colourfully assorted display that simply separated the fruits and vegetables in their respective sections, the massive bowl of vegetables was arranged in the style of a bouquet. The Rabbit-Faunus could see that the portobello mushrooms were cut out into hearts and placed into the bowl to look like flowers with celery sticks acting as their stems. Mixed in were the usual fruits and veggies that Velvet usually had with the dish, but much to the Rabbit-Faunus' annoyance, many of the food items were cut into little hearts too. The carrot slices were hearts; there were massive heart-shaped cucumber slices; even the strawberry's were stuck together to look like hearts! Then when Velvet saw what was written in dip on the plate underneath the bowl, she almost let out an exasperated groan.

It read: 'Heart~ U!' in very dainty dip-writing.

Despite the embarrassment of it all, Velvet had to admit: the plate did look aesthetically pleasing. But when she heard the snickers of two certain sisters, the brown-haired Faunus openly glared in the direction of the massive line cook that _betrayed_ her that night. Unsurprisingly, the boy was staring at Velvet with an expectant, and utterly amused expression. Once their eyes met, he let out a loud laugh that made many of the people at the pub jump. The Rabbit-Faunus just huffed and rolled her eyes. She then slowly chanced a glance at the fashionista before her and saw that the girl also was effectively embarrassed by the dinner plate too.

Coco had an impressive blush adorning her cheeks, and was looking everywhere else except for the Rabbit-Faunus herself. Velvet started to get second-hand embarrassment and also felt a familiar warmth begin to reach her own cheeks too, but then she just hastily placed the plate down in front of the fashionista.

"I-ugh, it doesn't usually look like this but umm- yeah, this is the Menagerian Fruits and Veggie plate that I usually get."

Coco just flitted her eyes briefly at Velvet and uttered a small 'Umm.. Thanks' towards the girl. The Rabbit-Faunus then turned to the black and yellow duo, "I'll go get your beverages now." They both just nodded with amused smiles in response, and Velvet briskly walked away while plotting Yatsuhashi's death. She basically stomped up to the familiar counter and gave the boy the best glare that she could.

"Heyyy Vel-"

" _Heart~ U?!_ Seriously!?"

Velvet didn't even try to lower her voice and straight up yelled at the line cook. Her ears twitched at the sound of the laughter elicited by some of the women at the table she was just at, but she still maintained eye contact with the massive boy before her. In response, Yatsuhashi let out another hearty laugh and patted the top of Velvet's head. She swatted at his arm and huffed.

"What's wrong, Rabbit?" A familiar, gruff voice suddenly interjected.

Velvet just sighed, "It's nothing, Junior. Yatsuhashi's just being annoying."

The man raised an eyebrow at the boy, who just shrugged in return, "I'm just trying to help her 'woo' a girl. I thought I was being a good friend."

"Oh..." Junior coughed awkwardly, and looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than there at the moment. But then his eyes widened, "It's not Blondie is it?! If she's anything like her mother, then she's probably a little too wild for ya, Velvet."

"Jeez, No! I'd sooner kill Yang before developing some kind of romantic attraction towards her." Velvet then turned to Yatsuhashi, "That reminds me: Yang wants a fire shot of Strawberry Sunrise and Blake is going to need a carton of milk."

"Coming right up!" Yatsuhashi declared with a salute. And with that, the boy disappeared back into the kitchen/bar to get those beverages. Before Velvet could get lost again in her thoughts, she felt a hand pat the top of her head. She furrowed her brows and then stared up at the man with questioning eyes.

"Go get changed, kid. Hang out with your friends, I'll get your drinks for ya. And don't worry, you'll get payed for the hour."

The Rabbit-Faunus beamed at the man, "Alright! Thanks, Junior!"

Velvet then made her way towards the table and let the women know that she was going to be joining them shortly.

"Really?! That's great!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Wait, don't we need another chair for Velvet? And what about her food?" Weiss inquired.

Coco then tentatively raised her hand, "She could share my dinner with me? Don't get me wrong, it's delicious but the portion size is way too big for me to finish on my own."

Velvet nodded with gratitude towards the fashionista, "Thank you, Coco."

"As for the chair situation..." Yang began, "Well, if Coco's in a _sharing_ mood.."

Velvet nearly punched the yellow-haired girl,

"Yang!"

* * *

Coco didn't know how much more embarrassment she could take that night. She was more used to being the one to make another person elicit embarrassing response, not _be_ the one who displayed such responses. For a brief moment, she felt a flash of sympathy towards the two girls that she would relentlessly tease in a similar regard. The fashionista then rolled her eyes at her friends laughter, and the brief sympathetic flash was completely gone. Coco then saw Blake get a chair from a vacant table and place it right beside the fashionista. She gave the Cat-Faunus a questioning look.

"Well, she is sharing your dinner with you." Blake shrugged.

Coco just nodded at the fact and carried on with eating the massive vegetable-ridden dinner she was given. Save for it's unconventional arrangement, the food really was delicious and she would consider having it again if she ever did come back to the establishment. Who was Coco kidding, she was definitely going to come back if they were permitted to do so. But, with how wild the other two and their mothers were Coco didn't want to get her own hopes up. Hell, she wouldn't be surprised if they were all banned by the end of the night. And considering that Yang just ordered a 'Fire Shot,' the prospect of some kind of collateral damage occurring was becoming more likely.

The fashionista's musings were then interrupted yet again by the sight of a certain Rabbit-Faunus. Although this time, Velvet was in more PG-appropriate clothing; however, that didn't take away from her attractiveness at all. If anything, the black combat capris and dark-brown bomber jacket that the girl was wearing suited her perfectly. And the black tank-top that she also wore under the jacket did a good job at exposing her midriff; not that Coco was ogling at it or anything.

"Looks like Coco could go for some more... _food_." a certain former heiress remarked.

Coco steeled herself to not over react to the embarrassing statement and scoffed, "I'm very much _satiated_ , thank you."

"I'll say..." Blake interjected. The fashionista just crossed her arms and huffed at the insinuated message that was hidden within the Cat-Faunus' words.

When Velvet finally made it to their table, she took her respective seat and tentatively glanced at Coco. "Are you sure it's okay for me to eat the rest of this?"

The fashionista opened her mouth to answer the Rabbit-Faunus, but was beat to it by a certain yellow-haired girl, "Oh she's very much _satiated_ , Velvet. Go for it."

Velvet just gave both the yellow-haired girl and Coco a confused look but nevertheless began to eat the half-eaten vegetable bouquet before her. The fashionista opted to silently observe the Rabbit-Faunus and took note of the cute little eating habits that she seemed to have. Like, how every time Velvet seemed to enjoy what she was eating, her eyes would widen marginally and a small smile would find it's way to her face. And how she took small, cute little bites - very much like a Rabbit would. The fashionista especially thought it was outright adorable how the Rabbit-Faunus' nose would twitch every so often when she took a bite out of a piece of carrot or celery. Before Coco could get further lost into the phenomena that were Velvet's eating habits, a certain Yang Xiao Long slammed the table in excitement.

"Yay! My Fire Shot is here!"

Junior playfully rolled his eyes, and handed the black-and-yellow pair their respective drinks: Yang, her fire shot. And Blake, her massive carton of milk.

The fashionista smirked and turned her head towards Blake, who practically visibly gulped at the prospect of eating a "Fire-Dragon noodle plate." She watched in amusement as the yellow-haired girl didn't even wait for the Cat-Faunus and started to devour the red-hot dish. She didn't even seemed to be affected by the hotness/spiciness at all. This, in turn, seemed to give Blake the courage that she needed and she also began to take a tentative bite out of her chosen dinner.

However, Blake was immediately affected by the monstrous heat of the plate and began coughing. This caused her to desperately grab at the massive milk carton before her, and take comically large gulps from it. When Blake had finally 'cooled down' from the initial bite of the dish, both Coco and Weiss guffawed at the cute little milk moustache that adorned the top of the Cat-Faunus' lips. In return, the younger Belladonna just roughly wiped at the top of her lips with her forearms but then turned abruptly towards a certain yellow-haired girl who winced at the anger being displayed at her.

"Wha _th_ the _hell-th_ ish in that damn _plathe_!?"

Coco laughed even harder at the obvious lisp that Blake seemed to develop; which probably formed from the swelling of the Cat-Faunus' tongue as a result of eating such spicy food. The fashionista could even see Weiss holding onto Ruby's shoulder for support so that she wouldn't fall over from laughing so hard.

"I said you were going to need that carton of milk, didn't I?" Velvet muttered.

Yang shrugged and gave the Cat-Faunus a feeble smile, "I don't even know what's in it. I just know that my tastebuds love it!"

" _Well_ , your tas _th_ ebud _ths_ are _shot!_ " Blake exclaimed.

"Speaking of shots..." the yellow-haired girl began, "It's time to take mine!"

The Cat-Faunus just gave the girl an incredulous look and went back to the daunting task of eating such a plate. Coco observed in utter entertainment as Blake would rapidly alternate between taking a bite of the dry noodles and taking massive gulps from the milk carton. Yang seemed to be enjoying herself thoroughly and was cheering on the Cat-Faunus with absolute mirth. When Blake was finally done the dish, Yang grabbed hold of the flaming shot before her.

"There's this super cool trick that I can do that totally goes with the name of this dish."

Ruby beamed, "Oh my gosh are you actually going to do it?!"

The yellow-haired girl nodded with a devilish smile, and Coco smirked as she assumed what the 'trick' was going to be. When she said that Kitty Cat's liked _warm_ things, she didn't know that the yellow-haired girl was going to take her this literally. She then turned to her Cat-Faunus friend and her smirk transformed into a full-blown smile at how she was inching away from her manic 'date.' The said 'date' just flashed a brilliant smile back at Blake and winked before completely downing the fire shot in her throat. For a moment, everyone at the tables leaned in and anticipated the yellow-haired girl's next actions. That was, until both Coco and Velvet seemed to have caught onto a fatal flaw in the girl's plan.

The _fucking_ paper lanterns that hung above the tables.

Coco and Velvet's eyes seemed to widened simultaneously and they turned to try and stop Yang.

"Wait Yang, this isn't the bar area-!"

"Yang! The Paper-!"

 _Whoosh!_

It was too late.

Yang let out an impressive fire-breathing burp that caught onto the lowly-hung light lanterns at their table. Everyone's eyes widened in panic, and they silently gawked at the rapid spread of the fire towards the wooden beams that hung the lanterns. Blake's mouth literally dropped; whereas the parents of the group just looked on in absolute disbelief at the events that were playing out before them. Coco herself didn't know if she should be impressed or terrified at the whole ordeal. She decided to turn towards the Rabbit-Faunus, who had her ears down in dejection.

"Oh god I hope I don't get fired because of this." Velvet muttered exasperatedly.

"What the fuc-!? Yang!" Weiss yelled.

The yellow-haired girl winced, "Yes, Weiss?"

"Don't 'Yes, Weiss.' Me! _Do_ something about this!"

"What do you expect me to do?! It's already on fire! They'll put it out eventually, it really isn't that bad." Yang retorted unconvincingly.

Weiss gestured wildly at the fire rapidly spreading before them, "Not that _bad?_ Yang, this is _arson!_ "

Before the yellow-haired girl could retaliate, another barstool made it's way towards their general direction. Instead of hitting any of the women, it shattered against the wall beside them. Coco assumed that this was akin to a 'warning shot.'

"Get. Out."

Everyone's heads then whipped around towards the menacing voice. Yang silently shrunk at the absolute lividness being displayed by the gruff bar-owner, and slowly got up. Everyone followed suit with the action and gave Junior awkward smiles.

"Did I _stutter?_ Get the _fuck OUT!"_

In the heat of the moment (both figuratively and literally), Yang somehow thought it was appropriate to grab Blake and carry her bridal style while bolting out of the pub. Then, the older darker-haired women just briefly looked at each other, and then shrugged while following suit with Yang's actions with their respective partners.

"Wha-!? Kali unhand me this instant!"

"Woooo~!"

Coco then saw that the younger redhead contemplated doing the same thing, but then opted to grab hold of Weiss' hand and drag her out of there while laughing like a maniac.

" _Velvet_."

The Rabbit-Faunus winced, "I'm fired, aren't I?"

Junior sighed, "Nah kid. But you're on busboy duty for three whole months."

Velvet let out a breath and nodded at the man.

"I guess we should take our leave too?" Coco suddenly asked.

The Rabbit-Faunus chuckled, "That would be advisable, yes."

It was Coco's turn to sigh, "Ugh, maybe next time I'll treat you to a dinner that's not as eventful as this."

Velvet smiled at that.

"Yeah, next time."

* * *

 **Aaaand Scene. :)**

 **Hope you guys are still enjoying the story! I do plan to add a little drama to it, but I'm still trying to work that out. Keep letting me know what you guys think!**

 **Until Next Time,  
MediocreWriter.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Bzzzzzzz (That's the sound of the bumbleby buzzing in this chapter) - enjoy you wonderful humans :P.**

* * *

Blake's ears twitched in absolute amusement at the banter in which their _Ice Princess_ repeatedly insisted on wasn't 'flirting.' Ever since their little dinner a couple of days ago, the other trio had taken it upon themselves to basically integrate their group into Weiss', Coco's and Blake's school lives. Not that Blake minded, not at all; if anything, she was thrilled to have her old childhood friend back in her life again, and Ruby had this uncanny ability to make Weiss immediately turn into a flustered mess that the Cat-Faunus basically lived for. As for the yellow-haired girl of the group... Blake was mostly neutral about her.

Well...that's at least what she told herself.

In reality, the Cat-Faunus knew that deep, _deep_ down there was some form of attraction developing within her; towards the fiery blonde. Blake wasn't even going to try to deny the fact that Yang was, for lack of a better phrase, _hot_. But the girl seemed to have a very confident, almost _cocky_ , personality that Blake felt would clash with her own. The Cat-Faunus was well enough aware that she herself was rather reserved, and somewhat shy. So she tried not to expect much to develop romantically between the two.

"Ruby, would you stop that! I'm trying to listen to the lesson!" Weiss whispered harshly.

From her peripheral vision Blake could tell that the redhead had invaded Weiss' personal space yet again, and was playing with the girl's white hair. The Faunus cracked a smirk at the former heiress' flustered demeanour, and wondered in the back of her mind if Ruby was deliberately acting this way to get such responses from the girl. The Cat-Faunus then turned her head to observe the interaction, and then decided that the hyperactive girl's actions were probably unintentional; judging by the dopey, infatuated smile that she displayed towards Weiss.

"Is it common for Atlesian's to have white, silky hair like yours? I've never been to Atlas, but every time I've met someone from there, they would have hair similar to yours, Weiss. Well, their hair wouldn't be exactly _like_ yours, but the tones would still be pretty light. Your hair, in particular... It's _gorgeous_."

Blake's smirk turned into a full blown smile at the instant blush that formed on Weiss' face. It then seemed like the former heiress found it extremely hard to maintain eye contact with the unintentionally, cunning redhead before her, and was looking at every thing but. However, much to the Cat-Faunus' surprise, Weiss ran a tentative hand through her hair and her eyes would feebly flit back to Ruby's.

"T-Thank you, Ruby. And although yes most Atlesian's have light-coloured tones, only the Schnee's have the trait of pure white hair.."

The redhead smiled and snapped her fingers in triumph, "Ha! I knew it!"

"Knew _what,_ exactly. Ms. Rose?"

Blake's eyes widened and her head whipped around towards the unimpressed voice of professor Oobleck, their Remnant History teacher. Her ears flattened in embarrassment, as she noticed that the heads of the other girls (excluding the red and white "not couple") had turned too. Blake mentally face-palmed, as it probably seemed to the other students that they were _all_ not paying attention to the lesson.

"Oh! Uh- ahem.. w-well, I knew that Atlas was..." Ruby trailed off, but then Blake could physically see that an idea popped up inside the girls brain as she perked up slightly, "It's people are known to have reaaally light hair! But the Schnee's are the only ones known to be pure white ...a-and extremely beautiful!"

At this, Blake immediately turned back to Weiss and didn't even try to suppress her giggle at the beet-red complexion that the former heiress' face had taken. The girl was openly glaring at the redhead in absolute embarrassment and disbelief. She then hastily turned back to their professor and began to sputter a pathetic excuse of an explanation for Ruby's statement, but unsurprisingly, she was at a loss for words. This caused Coco and Yang to burst out into laughter, while Velvet offered the poor Schnee a look of understanding and pity.

Weiss then turned her head to the side, and crossed her arms, "you _fucking_ dolt.." The Cat-Faunus was the only one who heard the former heiress utter these words, and she smiled at the white-haired girl's frustration. Even when she turned to face professor Oobleck once again, she could see that he also was slightly entertained at the scene unravelling before him.

However, that didn't seem to prevent the man from giving them their impending punishment.

"Ahem... well, Ms. Rose, you are correct about the physical characteristics about the Atlesian people; however, I wasn't speaking about that particular topic - as this is a class that analyzes the historical aspects of Remnant." Professor Oobleck began, "Also, for failing to listen to my lecture and somewhat disrupting my class, the six of you will have to re-organize the history section of our Academy's library for the weekend."

Weiss tilted her head in confusion, "The six of us? What did the others do?"

"Were they not part of your conversations? The other four girls did seem like they were invested in what you two ladies were saying, as they were facing you with attentive smiles."

At these words, the Schnee turned to Blake and the others in disbelief, "You guys were eavesdropping?!"

"Oh _please_ , Weissy. I would hardly even call it eavesdropping if the obnoxious flirtatious banter was blatantly happening right in front of you," a certain fashionista pointed out with a dismissive wave. Blake took note of the annoyed, and almost envious, intonation of Coco's voice. Suddenly, a little playful glint shone in her eyes and she began to smile slyly at the brown-haired girl,

"Is someone a little _jealous_?" The Cat-Faunus teased.

Coco immediately turned towards Blake, and opened her mouth to retaliate. But unfortunately for the fashionista, the blaring sound of the school bell interrupted her, and she opted to give the Cat-Faunus an annoyed glare instead. To push her buttons even more, Blake gave the brown-haired girl a smug smile and a wink. She then almost started laughing at the comedic way in which Coco was fuming at her; but she felt no actual threat from the fashionista.

"Well, that concludes our class," Professor Oobleck stated, "Oh! and Ms. Schnee and the others: do not forget about your punishment on the weekend."

At the last part of Oobleck's sentence, each of the girls let out various, unenthused responses of affirmation and then made their way out of the lecture hall. Shortly after they left the room, Ruby let out a long, dramatic whine. This caused Yang and Velvet to giggle, and Weiss to outright glare at her in annoyance.

"Ughh, why do our morning classes alternate everyday? I'm still trying to process Port's Dust Studies lecture. I don't have the capacity to learn boring history things!"

Weiss scoffed, "Stop whining! Beacon Academy's an institute that values both the History of Remnant and the Industrial trade that dust technology had advanced. So obviously, two of our compulsory courses are going to cover those topics."

"Okay, okay..." Ruby relented, "but why the switch!? It gets really confusing sometimes! I mean, it's really intimidating when you accidentally walk into a senior lecture!"

"You can thank the Athletes of our Academy for that..." The former heiress stated with an eye roll, "Most of their athletic events take place during either first or second period. So to accommodate for the lost time in either class, the periods switch every so often so they don't fall behind."

Blake then heard Yang laugh nervously at the white-haired girl's words, "Guess I'm partially to blame for the switch, Rubes."

"You're part of the Athletics sector of our school?" Coco suddenly asked.

There was a hint of impression laced within her tone; and Blake didn't blame her. Beacon Academy's prestige with academics also transferred over to their athletics department. It was a known fact that majority of the athletes that played for the school were critically acclaimed or world-renown; and that going to this school would basically guarantee an aspiring athlete to go professional. Blake then slightly tilted her head to the side, and gave the yellow-haired girl a questioning look. She wondered what sport the girl played, and how talented she was if she was actually a part of one of the teams in the school.

Yang smiled, "Yup! I'm one of the junior fighters on Beacon's kickboxing team!"

"But you aren't a junior? I heard that freshman members are limited to intramural activities amongst themselves and between other schools," The Cat-Faunus remarked.

"I'm a bit of a special case, Kitten," the yellow-haired girl responded; the last part of the girl's sentence made Blake roll her eyes. However, that didn't discourage Yang at all, as she continued on to give the Cat-Faunus a playful wink.

"More like a nutcase..." Velvet quietly interjected.

This comment didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group, and they all began to laugh at Yang's expense. The yellow-haired girl simply scoffed playfully and ruffled the top of Velvet's head; in response, the Rabbit-Faunus attempted to swat away at the girl but to no avail. Their playful antics caused the more judgemental individuals around them to blatantly give them dirty looks. Velvet noticed this, and shyly receded back into herself; Yang, on the other hand, gave the other students an intimidating look of her own and scared them efficiently into looking away.

"Jeez, what's up with the students at this school? They're so uptight..." Ruby suddenly asked.

"Majority of the students that go here come from the elite socialite families. They don't take kindly to 'rough-housing' or people who seem like they come from the middle class." The Cat-Faunus explained, "No offence, though! It's just that students like you three don't exactly fit in here."

"None taken, Blake" Velvet reassured her with a smile,

"Yeah, we're well enough aware that we don't really vibe well with the atmosphere of this school." Yang added, "Totally not going to stop us from running wild though."

Ruby laughed at that statement and shot fist up into the air, "Hell no it won't!" The two sisters were then engulfed in hearty laughter, and the rest of the group looked at them with exasperated mirth. Blake took notice, however, that Weiss seemed more exasperated rather than entertained by the duo's antics.

As if on cue, the Cat-Faunus' stomach made an inhuman grumbling sound that startled nearly everyone in the group; including Blake herself. She immediately reddened at the embarrassing sound but then jumped at the sensation of Yang's cold, hard prosthetic finger poking at her raging tummy.

"Is our adorable Blakey hungry?" the yellow-haired girl teased.

Blake huffed and smacked Yang's hand away, "Don't touch me! and I'm only slightly famished..."

"Slightly? Blake, you could bring the Grimm back to life with that monstrous stomach of yours" Weiss remarked. The Cat-Faunus gave the former heiress a heated glare, but before she could retaliate a certain blonde had interrupted her.

"I have a protein bar with me right now!" Yang suddenly exclaimed with the bar in hand, "here, take it. We have P.E next period and I wouldn't want to see you faint or anything..."

Blake blushed at the girl's concern for her well-being and stared at the food item with apprehension. However, her eyes widened in fear and she jumped back at an intruding thought that she had about the food she was being offered, "It's not some spicy protein bar of death, is it?!"

Yang chuckled at the girl's justified fear and briefly ruffled the Cat-Faunus' head with a smile, "Heh, nope. Just a regular, almond-flavoured protein bar of nourishment!"

The Cat-Faunus just continued to stare at the food item with paranoia, but then Coco's annoyed sigh took her out of her scared state. She turned to face the brown-haired girl, but then was abruptly pushed slightly to the side as the said girl gruffly made her way towards Yang. Blake then observed an irked Coco snatch the protein bar out of Yang's hand, and felt the food article pelt her in the chest. The Cat-Faunus quickly scrambled to catch the bar, and once she secured it in her hands she gave the fashionista an incredulous look.

"W-what the hell, Coco?"

"Just eat the stupid freaking bar, _Blakey,"_ Coco growled, "If I have to watch and endure another flirtatious interaction I'm going to shoot myself..." The last part of Coco's outburst didn't go over Blake's head, and she confirmed that the fashionista was definitely jealous. Despite knowing this fact, the Cat-Faunus opted to keep quiet instead of poking at the brown-haired girl's expense, and pondered on speaking to her privately about her bubbling frustration. She then focused her stare towards a certain Rabbit-Faunus who she knew for a fact was the source of the said fashionista's inner turmoil. She wondered in the back of her mind what Velvet was doing, or maybe in their case _not doing_ , to make Coco act like... well, like a little bitch.

"I advise that you eat it, Blake." Weiss suddenly chimed in, "I'd rather not deal with a hungry, irrationally angry Cat-Faunus during our Athletics Class..."

Blake flushed slightly at the accusation, "I am _not_ irrationally angry when I'm hungry!"

"Oh yes you are," the former heiress retorted,

Blake then saw Yang raise an intrigued eyebrow at the white-haired girl, "is she actually?"

"She _rages_ ," Coco interjected with a smirk.

To this banter, Blake just angrily began to devour the bar given to her. While she was gnawing at the snack, she mumbled unintelligible profanities at the girls before her; unfortunately, this only caused the three girls to giggle at her uncharacteristic behaviour and probably further cemented the notion of her being an irrationally 'hangry' person. Despite the playful teasing about the Cat-Faunus' mood-based appetite, she immediately felt that the protein bar had somewhat satiated her hunger. She could also feel that her mood was beginning to lighten, and a familiar heat also began to reach her face as she felt the aftermath of the embarrassment as a result of her behaviour.

Blake then pinched the bridge of her nose, "Hopefully we won't be doing anything too physical today..."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you, Blake," Velvet stated as they neared the entrance to the girl's change room.

The Rabbit-Faunus' words made Blake internally gulp, and she slowly raised her head to read the looming sign plastered on the door before them.

 _This week's Girls General P.E class will be merged with the Athletics sector! This is due to this particular class being a PHYSICAL FITNESS evaluation. Remember to keep hydrated and perform the exercises in moderation!_ \- G. Goodwitch & J. Ironwood.

The Cat-Faunus flattened her ears in despair and sighed deeply,

"How lovely."

* * *

"I know- hah.. that you were speaking ironically, Blake" Weiss said as she panted, "B-but this is _not_ lovely, at all!"

Blake and the girls were currently jogging on the school's track and finishing up the cardio exercises of the fitness test bestowed upon them. Well... Ruby, Yang and Velvet had long since completed these tasks and were waiting up on the other three on the bleachers. However, the Cat-Faunus noticed (unsurprisingly) that the fashionista had given up on finishing at a reasonable time, and was shamelessly taking a _stroll_ on the damn track. In reality, she knew that the girl was more than capable of finishing the 4.5k run at a good time, but the brown-haired girl's vehement hate for sweat had prevented her from performing proficiently during this godforsaken class.

"Goooo Weiss! You can do it!" Ruby suddenly cheered,

"S-Shut up, you _dolt!_ "

The Cat-Faunus gave Weiss a sidelong glance of pity. Blake knew that the former heiress wasn't exactly physically adept, and that she wasn't much of a fan of this course either. Weiss didn't really exercise much (not that she needed to), and didn't see the benefit of P.E and Athletics. However, unlike Coco, she actually tried when in this particular class; the Cat-Faunus knew that this was mostly because the former heiress didn't want to put a damper on her basically _perfect_ grades.

"Adel! You could at least _pretend_ like you're trying..." Coach Ironwood hollered.

Blake observed that this prompt caused the fashionista to temporarily roll her eyes, and then she started to imitate small jogging motions as she half-heartedly began to advance on the track. The Cat-Faunus simply chuckled at the girl's sass, and continued jogging at a steady pace. She then noticed that Weiss was falling behind, and she turned her head to see if the former heiress was going to be okay.

"Fucking _Oum_... Blake just go on ahead, I'm going to walk the rest of the way.."

The Cat-Faunus merely shrugged at the girl's declaration before turning around and resuming her jog.

"Oh C'mon, Weiss! You literally only have 0.5K left!" a certain hyperactive redhead exclaimed.

Blake nearly laughed at the annoyed, neanderthal-like grunt that Weiss responded with. She pondered if the redhead knew that not _everyone_ was as capable as she was on the track. Even Blake was astounded by the lack of time it took for the hyperactive girl to finish the cardio exercises. And it seemed like she didn't even break a sweat! The Cat-Faunus kind of expected that the girl was somewhat of a speedster, what with the comment that Viktoria made about Summer being the captain of their track team back in the day, but holy _shit_ the girl was fast.

When Blake finally made it to the 4.5K mark, she immediately stumbled onto the turf and sat down to catch her breath. She wondered in the back of her mind _why_ she tried so damn hard to run this track at a good time... she was fucking _starving._ Her attention was then brought towards the cheering from a certain trio; more specifically, a certain yellow-haired girl.

Oh.. that's why- _wait what?_

The Cat-Faunus shook her head to get rid of those thoughts, and sighed in irritation. Before she could get further lost within the confusing mind-storm that were her feelings, the source of her frustration began to address her,

"Hey Blakey! Come sit in the Victor's circle over here!"

"Only good girls who finished strong can sit with us!" Ruby added.

Immediately after the redhead made that proclamation, Blake saw that Velvet had smacked her upside the head. The Cat-Faunus smirked at their antics, and she turned her head to observe whether or not the other two girl's had heard Ruby's claim. Her smirk transformed into a full blown smile when she saw Weiss scoff, and that Coco basically flipped the redhead off.

Blake simply chuckled at her two companions, stood up, and began to walk towards the other trio. When she made it to their area, she then noticed that the gaps between the bleacher benches were quite large, and that she would probably need some leverage to maneuver safely towards them. Suddenly, the Cat-Faunus made eye contact with a certain blonde and she gave her an awkward smile.

"Hey, Yang. Do you think you could give me a hand?"

The Cat-Faunus' smile began to fade at the outright _devious_ look that she was receiving from the questioned blonde. It seemed like a cunning _glint_ had shone in the girl's eyes, and a fire was lit within her heart. Blake could feel her ears flatten at the ominous vibe that she was getting from Yang's demeanour, but then she abruptly jumped at the dull _thud!_ from the girl's prosthetic hitting the-

...Blake blinked.

She then stared incredulously at the object on the ground before her.

It was, quite literally, Yang's hand. More specifically, the entirety of her prosthetic forearm.

She continued to stare at the damn thing as she heard the boisterous laughter of it's owner above her.

Suddenly, in one gargantuan sweep of raw emotion, the anger of _a_ _thousand Grimm_ had possessed her and all she could see was red. No, Blake did not have the capacity to act indifferent to the idiotic visual pun that Yang had pulled. She was too fucking _hungry_ for that. Before she could register what she was doing, the last thing Blake could see was Yang's arm flying in the air towards the middle of the track.

She then noticed that the blonde's laughter had abruptly stopped, along with the residual runners on the track who had seen the whole thing.

Once she re-oriented herself to the situation at hand, Blake was mortified by her own actions.

She... she just essentially threw an amputee's prosthetic across the _fucking field._

Blake could even see that the Coaches jaws had dropped at the actions of her irrational, hunger-induced rage. The Cat-Faunus was about to turn around and apologize profusely to the blonde, but jumped slightly at the sensation of the girl's arm snaking itself around her neck from behind. Blake immediately flushed at the proximity in which the blonde had situated herself with her body, but she didn't dare to do anything to move. She could feel the girl's chest moving with every breath she took on her back. She had to suppress a shiver that threatened to engulf her body as the yellow-haired girl continued to just _breathe_ onto the back of her neck, and ears.

"Y-Yang, I-I-!"

"That wasn't very _nice_ , Blakey..."

Blake almost groaned at the downright _seductive_ tone that Yang had taken. It didn't really help her case that with every word the girl spoke, her breath would ever so slightly linger on the Cat-Faunus' skin. She tried to formulate a retort in her mind, but she couldn't properly focus her thoughts because the blonde before her was doing an excellent job of distracting her.

No, instead the Cat-Faunus let out a little pathetic squeak.

"What? Cat got your tongue?"

The cat joke somewhat irked Blake, but before she could make an angry remark about it she suddenly felt the girl's lips nip at one of her cat ears. This caused Blake to reflexively grab onto the blonde's arm, and she unintentionally pushed herself backwards; towards her assailant at hand. She mentally cursed herself as she knew that, at the moment, she was putty in the conniving blonde's arms (or arm?).

Yang chuckled, "You know... you should go fetch that arm for me, Blake."

The Cat-Faunus huffed at that, "I-I'm not a dog, Yang."

"Hmm... my mistake."

All of the sudden, the Cat-Faunus felt Yang's arm slowly make it's way down to her waist. She felt herself visibly shiver at the ridiculously gentle way in which the blonde's hand had lingered downwards to her hips, and then jumped slightly when the yellow-haired girl had pulled her roughly to her side. Blake turned her face away from the blonde and began to blush immensely, as she felt that the girl had leaned, and smiled, into her neck.

"You better not be under the impression that I'm going to let you get away with this, Blakey."

This statement made Blake widened her eyes in fear but before she could say anything to the blonde, she felt the girl free her from her seductive wrath.

With that, Yang abruptly transformed back into her bubbly self and began to stroll towards her prosthetic. Blake noted, however, that the girl's hips would sway suggestively with the first few steps that she took. Eventually, the blonde began to nonchalantly saunter towards the arm on the ground. With her assailant finally away from her immediate senses, the Cat-Faunus then could properly process what had just happened.

She then concluded that she indeed, _could not_ process what the fuck just happened.

"...What the _fuck_ was that?"

"My sentiments, exactly," a familiar voice suddenly chimed in.

This new additional voice caused Blake to basically _yowl_ at the intruder. She then whipped her head around to see that both Weiss and Coco had finished their run and were waiting patiently behind her. She inwardly rolled her eyes as she had a feeling that they both observed the majority of the interaction that she just had with Yang.

Coco smiled, "You have some explaining to do, miss kitty cat."

"I don't think I've ever seen Blake that flustered before," Weiss added

Blake just pinched the bridge of her nose yet again, "Shut up..."

Coco and Weiss laughed.

* * *

 **There's chap 11 for y'all!**

 **Ohhhhh my god I'm so sorry for the long ass time it took me to update! LOL I got swamped with work and school (I just finished my summer courses), but now I've basically got this month to myself :D I'm going to start updating more within the next couple of weeks, so don't go anywhere just yet.**

 **I hope you guys are still enjoying the story :D keep letting me know what you think!**

 **Until next time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	12. Chapter 12

**'Tis just MediocreWriter here; posting a new chapter for you amazing humans to enjoy. :P**

* * *

Weiss flinched yet again when Coco cackled for the umpteenth time at Blake's recalling of the events that occurred in their P.E class. As they made their way towards a vacant lunch table, the former heiress could see that the fashionista continued to shake with residual mirth. Although, Weiss had to admit that she was also enjoying herself thoroughly as they laughed at the Cat-Faunus' expense. Even Weiss was outright shocked by the black-haired Faunus' hunger-driven actions back in P.E. The white-haired girl didn't even think that she herself would have thrown the girl's limb if she were in Blake's situation.

"Ahahaha! I can see how your rage took over because of her idiotic pun..." Coco began, "But I don't believe that warranted you to throw the girl's arm across the track!"

Weiss playfully rolled her eyes as Coco was engulfed again with another round of laughter. She then grinned when she heard Blake let out a very uncharacteristic whine and saw that she was pouting at the fashionista. The Cat-Faunus then turned towards Weiss, and gave her a desperate stare,

"Weisss...can you _please_ get Coco to shut up already!"

The former heiress shook her head, "Nope, you brought this onto yourself Blake."

"I think I've suffered from the consequences quite enough... and trust me, I am _still_ suffering."

Coco smirked, " _Relax_ , Blakey. Why don't you have some catnip along with your food to take the edge off?"

Weiss quirked an eyebrow at the thought of Blake being exposed to catnip, and then wondered in the back of her mind how the Cat-Faunus would behave if this were to happen. Blake, on the other hand, was wildly unimpressed by the cat joke and all but smacked her face against the lunch table that they were situated at. The former heiress simply continued to stare at her feline friend in unadulterated amusement. Normally, Weiss knew that Blake would at least try to play her... more than questionable actions off by acting indifferent. But, much to the former heiress' mild surprise, Blake was openly showing how incredibly embarrassed she was by what she did. Weiss was more sure that the girl was more embarrassed by _who_ she affected through her actions, rather than _what_ she did (although throwing an amputee's prosthetic across a field is in a league of it's own kind of shameful-type of embarrassment).

The white-haired girl then focused her stare towards a specific blonde oaf; who was seemed to be sitting a couple of lunch tables down from the trio. She was currently in the company of Velvet, Ruby, and a couple of familiar faces that Weiss could vaguely recognize; one of which was Pyrrha Nikos. The former heiress wasn't too surprised to see the red-headed girl interacting with the blonde since she also was deeply involved in the Athletics department of the school. Well, considering the fact that the amazonian beauty came from a long line of world-renown athletes, her involvement with sports and the like was logical.

It wasn't any secret that the Nikos' were heavily influential within the sporting goods sector of the business world. The entirety of Pyrrha's family were sponsored by many well-known athletic companies; including Pyrrha herself. If the former heiress could recall correctly, the tall redhead participated in a number of track and field-related sports. However, she was best known for her Javelin throwing abilities - and she was basically the poster child for various athletic enterprise's; Weiss wasn't too surprised by this due to the fact that the girl was an absolute _beauty_.

Suddenly, the former heiress' attention was then brought back to Blake, who seemed to have crawled out of her state of despair and was now blankly eating her lunch. Despite the girl's indifferent facial expression, it appeared to Weiss that the Cat-Faunus' overall demeanour had actually lightened immensely after finally getting some food into her system. The white-haired girl then held a ghost of a smile when she observed that a brief flash of disappointment had entered Blake's face when she saw just _who_ a certain fiery blonde was sitting with. This small display of emotion also didn't go unnoticed by Coco, who hummed out loud.

"Is our cute Blake a little _sad_ that Yang is fraternizing with another woman?" the fashionista teased.

Weiss noticed that Blake's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, but otherwise she didn't show that the brown-haired girl's comment had bothered her, "She can talk to whoever she wants. She doesn't _belong_ to me."

"Oh right, I forgot that she wasn't some chew toy that you could- oh wait... I'm sorry, wrong animal reference," Coco retorted, "I forgot that you weren't a _dog_."

Weiss suddenly smiled at the unsubtle reference that Coco made to one of the more _handsy_ interactions that Blake had with the blonde. After that particular interaction, Blake was in a somewhat dazed state but when she finally snapped out of it the play of events had processed and she was engulfed with utter embarrassment. The former heiress was also amused and slightly shocked; not by how Yang had basically felt Blake up, but by how Blake had essentially _let_ her feel her up. A smile then began to form on Weiss' face.

Blake didn't really think that they would let this slide... did she?

The Cat-Faunus just groaned and face-palmed, as she probably knew that she was in for a lightning round of teasing. She then stared at the two girls with baleful expectancy; and they stared back with absolute entertainment. Weiss saw that Coco was going to add more to her joke, but an idea had popped into the former heiress' mind and she beat the other girl to it.

"I don't know, Coco. Maybe Blake here is part dog..." Weiss began..

Blake cocked an eyebrow up and gave her a confused look, "Weiss, what the hell are you-"

"Considering that she seemed to be ready to do it _like_ a dog with the blonde oaf."

The other two girls reactions were immediate. Coco was instantly enveloped in yet another round of laughter with real tears forming in her eyes. Blake, on the other hand, had her jaw dropped in shock and was giving the former heiress a look of astonishment. Weiss didn't exactly make vulgar comments that much - no, that was more Coco's thing. But with the relentless teasing that she was receiving from Blake about a certain redhead (especially at home), the former heiress thought that this much was acceptable. Weiss continued to stare at both of her companions in unadulterated mirth, and much to the white-haired girls amusement Blake seemed more annoyed at Coco's boisterous guffawing rather than her joke.

The Cat-Faunus rolled her eyes, "At least I don't seem like I'm going to jump Velvet and do her like a _rabbit_ all the time..."

It was Weiss' turn to give Blake an incredulous look. She then whipped her head around towards the fashionista, who had immediately ceased her laughter. Instead, she gave the Cat-Faunus an annoyed glare and crossed her arms.

"I thought you didn't like the animal jokes, Blakey."

"Well if you look me in the eye and tell me that you haven't thought about pouncing on a certain _Rabbit_ -Faunus, then I'll take it back and apologize," Blake replied with indifference.

Much to Weiss' surprise, Coco simply began to blush and abruptly looked away from the Cat-Faunus. The former heiress then wondered in the back of her mind just how deep the brown-haired girl's feelings were for Velvet. She initially assumed that Coco was just trying to have a little fun with the brown-haired Faunus girl, like she usually does when she finds someone new and intriguing. However, the behaviour that the fashionista was displaying towards Velvet had told Weiss and Blake otherwise. Blake then squinted her eyes at Coco in suspicion, and the white-haired girl concluded that the Cat-Faunus was sharing the same thoughts as her about Coco's uncharacteristic actions.

"Listen, Coco. Velvet isn't just some plaything for you to drop when you get bored of her. I actually care about her a lot and-!"

"I have no intention of doing such a deplorable thing to Velvet, _Blakey,_ " Coco interrupted, "and frankly, I'm insulted that you would think I'd treat her that way..." Weiss took notice of the genuine hurt that had laced the fashionista's voice at the latter part of her statement. But then the former heiress furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Then what _are_ your intentions with the girl?" Weiss suddenly asked.

"I-! I don't know..." Coco answered genuinely, "I'm going to have to get to know her first.. right?" She then gave Blake a feeble, but expectant look.

The Cat-Faunus shrugged, "I don't know if I can be much help. We kind of had a 7 year gap of not seeing each other, but she seems more or less so the same. Coco, just talk to her. She's a nice girl."

Weiss scoffed, "That's more easier said than done, Blake. Ever since _The Red Reaper's_ the both of them have been ignoring each other like the plague. What did you guys talk about after Yang essentially blew up the place in flames?"

The fashionista then mumbled something unintelligible. To this, both Blake and Weiss tilted their heads in puzzlement and prompted the girl to repeat herself with their confused facial expressions.

Coco sighed, "I may have nonchalantly promised her to dinner, but I don't know if she took it seriously!"

At this new bit of information, the Black and White pair simply gave the brown-haired idiot a blank look.

"Freaking Oum, Coco! You've already secured an evening with the girl. Just go act on the query and confirm with her!" Weiss all but yelled. Blake sat there and nodded in affirmation at the former heiress' words. Coco, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at the white-haired girl's suggestion and scoffed.

"Like you _said_ , Weiss; it's easier said than done!"

The former heiress almost let out a noise of pure exasperation at how _annoying_ Coco was acting. However, an idea entered her mind when she saw that Ruby and Velvet were making their way towards their general direction. Her eyes briefly held contact with their hyperactive redheaded member, who then perked up instantly at the sight of the former heiress, but she immediately flitted her stare back to Coco. Weiss could see that Ruby had somewhat deflated at the neglect, and felt a little bad but she was determined to execute the ploy that she created in her mind.

The former heiress then began to slowly smile at the fashionista,

"Then why don't you _do_ it, right now?"

Coco gave Weiss a look of utter confusion, "What the hell-? Agh!"

The fashionista couldn't even finish her sentence; mostly because Weiss had, rather roughly, shoved her out of her seat. This caused Coco to fall unceremoniously onto the ground while making a hilariously prissy shriek. The girl then gave Weiss a pissed off look, and the former heiress was almost sure that Coco was actually going to fight her.

"What the _fuc-!_ "

"Oh my gosh! Coco, are you okay!?"

Weiss and Blake then watched in amusement as Coco's threatening demeanour had immediately dissipated, and was replaced by embarrassed panic. They continued to stare on as the fashionista scrambled about at the Rabbit-Faunus' feet. The said Rabbit-Faunus was just giving the currently panicked Coco an expression of genuine concern. Suddenly, Weiss observed as the brown-haired girl shot up at a neck-breaking speed; and she became entertained at the proximity in which both the girls were relative to each other as a result of Coco's actions.

The fashionista was currently standing directly in front of Velvet. However, with the height difference, everyone could see that Coco was staring down at the brown-haired Faunus girl; with the said Rabbit-Faunus staring directly back up at her. This resulted in the creation of a rather intimate image for the people around them to see.

Velvet let out an awkward, monosyllabic laugh,

"U-uh... Hi?"

Before Coco could even reply to the girl... the bell rang.

The fashionista used this to her advantage and gave Velvet an awkward laugh of her own,

"Aheh, umm... bye!"

The former heiress inwardly rolled her eyes at Coco's pathetic excuse at an escape; and she watched as the brown-haired girl walked briskly towards the doors leading to the cafeteria's exit. She gave the girl's receding form an annoyed and angry look, but then jumped slightly when she heard Ruby cough to get both Blake's and hers attention.

"Soooo... what the heck was that?" the redhead questioned.

Weiss opened her mouth to answer, but Blake beat her to it, "Oh that was just Coco being a klutz, is all."

"Well.. she's definitely tripping over her _feelings..."_ Weiss mumbled.

Blake seemed to have caught onto her comment as the former heiress was welcomed with an elbow to her side. She just gave Blake a baleful look and huffed. However, the events that played out before her had caused her to anticipate the events yet to come for the weekend; especially regarding the development of Coco's relationship with a certain Rabbit-Faunus.

 _This is going to be...fun._

* * *

Blake groaned loudly as her mother continued to relentlessly laugh at Weiss' retelling of the events that occurred during the day. The three women were currently sitting on the couches in the living room, and chatting about how their days went. Much to the Cat-Faunus' misfortune, Weiss did not fail to mention the stunt that Blake had pulled regarding a certain blonde's prosthetic. In the edges of her mind, she wondered if some kind of cosmic being was just taking a massive dump on her luck that day. She already couldn't stop replaying her actions in her head. She didn't need the constant teasing from her so called family and friends to cause a mental flashback to the embarrassing event.

"Okay okay, wait. So Blake: she _actually_ threw Yang's limb onto the track..."

Blake huffed, "Mom! how many times are we going to go over this!?"

The Faunus woman laughed heartily, "until I can vaguely understand as to _why_ you did it"

"Kali, I don't even think Blake knows why," Weiss pointed out,

"I truly don't!" Blake added as she slumped back, rather dramatically, into the couch. This resulted in the other two women giggling at the Cat-Faunus' uncharacteristic behaviour, but then Kali began to give her daughter a questioning look.

"But that _wasn't_ what got you two and the others in trouble?"

To this, Blake saw that Weiss started to fidget nervously in her seat. The Cat-Faunus then grinned at her mother, "Well, our sweet little Weiss here was flirting rather obnoxiously with a certain redhead during our Remnant History class."

Weiss whipped her head towards the raven-haired girl, "B-Blake, Shut-!"

"Oh _was she_ , now?"

It was the Cat-Faunus' turn to laugh at the white-haired girl. She watched as Weiss began to sputter an incoherent explanation to the older Faunus woman, but everything that came out of the girl's mouth just seemed to be a bunch of indecipherable noises. Kali stared back at the former heiress with an amused smile and then patted the girl's shoulder to let her know that she could stop trying to explain herself. Weiss simply slumped in her seat in defeat and gave Blake one last look of bitterness. In response, the Cat-Faunus shrugged nonchalantly, and smiled.

"And when is this punishment taking place again?"

"Tomorrow, and depending on how much of the History section we re-organize, it might extend to Sunday too," Blake answered.

Suddenly, Kali perked up, "Oh then why don't you guys invite everyone over to dinner tomorrow evening then? I'm having a 'Girls Day Out' with Summer and Raven during the day so the kids might as well head over here too!"

"I guess we can ask them tomorrow.." Blake shrugged.

"Wait, you don't have Yang's number yet?"

The Cat-Faunus face-palmed at the assumption that her mother made about her and the fiery blonde's relationship, "Mom! I'm not a flirtatious tyrant like you!"

"Oh Come _on_ , Blake! You're a Belladonna. It should come naturally!"

In response, Blake just threw a couch pillow at the Faunus woman. Unfortunately, her mother's reflexes were too fast and she dodged the soft object swiftly. The younger Faunus girl then watched begrudgingly as Kali stood up and began to walk into the kitchen with her arms raised defensively, "I'm _just_ saying, my dear child."

Before Blake could make some kind of retort to Kali's words, the woman had already disappeared completely into the kitchen. Instead, the Cat-Faunus opted to lean back into the couch and sigh deeply. She then heard Weiss giggle slightly at her resignation, and she huffed.

"It would seem that we are going to have a couple of guests tomorrow," Weiss suddenly pointed out.

"That we do."

"Maybe we should fire-proof the place before they come here..."

Blake chuckled at that, "As much as I want to take the right precautions, I don't think that's going to help much considering just who they are."

She then heard Weiss sigh in a resigned manner, and felt that the girl had slumped into the couch too. They both stared blankly at the ceiling.

 _Tomorrow's going to be... interesting._

* * *

 **Welp. That was a chapter :P**

 **If you look closely into the horizon, you may see a little bit of RWBY mama fluff happening; possibly with a side of Crosshares. ;D**

 **LOL until next time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	13. Chapter 13

**INTRO**

* * *

"Hey Mom! Weiss and I are heading out now to re-organize the History section of Beacon's Library!" Blake hollered from the front door, "we probably won't be back until 5 o'clock." The Faunus woman peeked her head out of the living room and gave the two girls a nod of acknowledgement.

Kali then smiled, "Alright! don't forget to invite the others over for dinner when you're done!" The Belladonna Matron didn't fail to hear the deep sigh that her daughter let out in response to her reminder, and she playfully rolled her eyes at the girl's reluctance.

"Will do, Kali," Weiss answered, "have a great day with Summer and Raven!"

"Thank you, Weiss; and you have a great day too. Don't tire yourselves out too much." The two girls simply gave the Belladonna woman responses of affirmation; and with that, they shut the front door with a soft _click!_

The Faunus woman then sighed contently and slowly got up from the couch to start her morning. She had already eaten her breakfast with the girls before they left, and was currently getting ready to begin her morning workout. This particular routine usually consisted of her running the course of the neighbourhood, then possibly stopping by the _Valerian Heights_ _Social Lodge_ to cool off and have a protein shake or fruit smoothie.

She certainly wasn't going to that godforsaken place with the hopes of running into a certain Schnee Matron.

No, not at all.

Kali silently shook her head; who was she trying to kid?

Although the Faunus woman had a membership to the Lodge ever since they moved into the neighbourhood a couple of years back, she had only started to frequent it about a week ago for the off chance that she might bump into the Schnee woman. She heard from Aurelia, the Nikos' family head, that Viktoria had recently begun to drop by the Social Lodge. And apparently from what the redheaded woman described, it seemed that the Schnee was using the place ironically and rarely socialized with the other men and women there at all. This initially made Kali ponder why the woman would even leave her home to be surrounded by a bunch of people who she _knew_ the Schnee didn't like. However, once the Faunus woman thought about it, she came to the conclusion that Viktoria was probably being forced by her husband to connect with the husbands and wives of the other business Moguls of their social class.

The thought made the Faunus woman frown, as she knew that Viktoria was probably dying on the inside with every second she had to spend with those people. Kali's frown turned into a small pout because a tiny part of her may have also hoped that the woman had started going to _Valerian Heights_ to possibly see her.

The Faunus woman then scoffed at herself, "Snap out of it, Kali."

She lightly slapped her cheeks and shook her head once again to get rid of her thoughts. Kali then made her way to the master bedroom to get her workout attire. She opted to wear a pair of black form-fitting tights, along with a grey muscle tee that slightly exposed her ribs and sports undergarment. It seemed like a pretty standard workout outfit to the Faunus woman. Normally, she would have just worn tights along with a sports bra to workout. However, she believed that the other Matrons at the Social Lodge probably wouldn't take it too kindly if she arrived there with nothing but a sports bra covering her upper body (Although she still believed that they wouldn't be impressed with her proudly exposing her Faunus Tribal tattoos).

Kali then briefly examined her outfit in the full-length mirror in her room, and came to the conclusion that she was satisfied with what she picked out. She began to make her way towards her front door and stopped directly in front of it. The Faunus woman took in a deep breath, and then slowly let it out.

The Belladonna smiled,

"It's time to get the day started."

She opened the door and began to run.

* * *

Viktoria fought the urge to openly roll her eyes at the pathetically hushed conversation that some of the other Matrons were having in her general vicinity; specifically about _her._ The Schnee could make out a couple of familiar voices - one of which was Salem. Despite the rather annoying situation, she did a very good job at appearing to be unbothered by their distasteful comments, and continued to nonchalantly sit at the small table where she tried to relax in.

The keyword there being: _tried_.

In reality, Viktoria was fuming on the inside at the less than honourable task that Jacques had put her up to. He wanted her to secure some connections with the heads of the more business-inclined individuals of their social circle; which didn't make sense at all considering that the SDC was basically already on the top of the business world. No, what was implied by Jacques' conniving ploy was for her to find out the _secrets_ of the other business moguls in the industry. So that he could use those very secrets against his competitors.

She was also positive that he truly didn't care about what deplorable _means_ she decided to complete this task with.

Nevertheless, this plan was destined to backfire because the man didn't consider the fact that Viktoria had absolutely loathed the majority of the people in their social circle. She wasn't above attempting to actually _enjoy_ the company of the men and women that he wanted her to associate herself with. Of course, there were exceptions like the Nikos' and the Arcs, but they belonged more to the entertainment and/or hospitable goods and services sector of business; so Jacques had no interest in making connections with them.

The Schnee Matron scanned the room once again to see if either of those two heads were in the Social Lodge. Unsurprisingly, Aurelia was completely absent. Viktoria then inwardly scoffed at herself because she didn't know what she expected - even the Nikos female head hated socializing there. The Schnee Matron let out a small disappointed sigh.

She really didn't want to be at this crows-nest on her own.

Viktoria then stared ruefully at the lemon water in front of her, and suddenly she was disappointed for a whole new reason. She continued to stare at the cursed, nonalcoholic drink before her in some obscure hope that it would magically transform into wine or hard liquor. The Schnee then huffed and leaned back into her chair while pinching the bridge of nose.

"Viktoria, you promised Winter that you would quit..."

Suddenly, the Schnee woman's eyebrow twitched at the condescending laughter that was probably directed at her.

"How _pathetic_. Since she has nobody to talk to, she's talking to herself!" one of Salem's crones exclaimed.

The entirety of the group of women were then engulfed in feathery, high-pitched laughter once again and Viktoria was almost sure that she was about to commit multiple homicides in that moment. But before she could actually strategize this pseudo-plan of hers, the familiar figure of a certain fiery redhead had taken a seat across from her. She saw that the woman was wearing a flattering, loose, white blouse with a pair of form-fitting black jeans. Upon recognizing who it was, she briefly gave the woman a smile of acknowledgement.

"Well, just by observing _who_ she has to pick to converse with, I'm not surprised that she opted to sit on her own," Aurelia loudly stated.

Viktoria didn't even bother to hide the amused smile at the immediate response that the Nikos' Matron elicited from Salem's posse. They were currently either openly giving the redhead expressions of dismay, or looks of unadulterated anger. The Schnee Matron was almost certain that one of the women's eyes were going to pop out from the ugly glare that she was giving them. Her eyes then briefly locked with Salem's and her smile widened at the pure _anger_ that she was receiving from the pale woman. Viktoria simply gave the woman a fake smile and looked away.

Aurelia then laughed lightly, "You know I'm not _always_ going to be here to essentially tell them to piss off, Viktoria."

Viktoria scoffed, "I'm well enough aware of that fact, Aurelia."

"Then why silently take the passive-aggressive comments that they constantly throw at you?"

"I hardly find the words of these women to be something to openly get angry at," Viktoria answered, "Besides, I'm not an immature, high school banshee anymore."

The last part of Viktoria's statement didn't go over Salem's head, as she heard the woman scoff. This resulted in the Schnee Matron smiling smugly while she took a sip of her own drink. However, her smile briefly turned into a frown as she was reminded that the beverage in her hand was still, in fact, merely lemon water. She then heard Aurelia laugh once more,

"Something wrong with your drink?"

"Only that it's zero percent alcoholic," Viktoria replied with an irritated sigh,

The Nikos Matron raised an eyebrow at that, "would you like me to get you one that has alcohol in it? Although with your massive bank account, I would imagine that it shouldn't be a problem..."

The white-haired woman gave Aurelia a blank stare, "I promised my eldest daughter that I would stop drinking."

Aurelia then gave the Schnee a look of understanding and let out a small, but long 'oh...'; Despite the small reveal about one of the Schnee Matron's deep-rooted problems, the Nikos woman suddenly perked up, "How is Winter, anyways?"

Viktoria relaxed at the sudden change in topic, and smiled at the woman sitting across from her, "She seems to be doing okay judging from the letters she's been sending me. Actually, she's coming back from deployment either today or tomorrow, and we were planning to surprise Weiss."

"Oh... is she aware that Weiss is living with-?"

"Yes, yes. I informed her of her sister's disinheritance and such," the Schnee interrupted.

Aurelia gave her an amused smile, "and her reaction?"

Viktoria returned the smile, "she was _livid_."

Suddenly, both of the women let out a small bout of laughter. The Schnee Matron was glad that her daughters were at least close to each other; God knows that they needed to be, especially in that stifling so-called 'family' of theirs. The two women then sat in each others presence in comfortable silence. However, this silence was somewhat short-lived as it was interrupted by the Nikos Matron's perpetual musings, "Does Kali know of this plan?"

"I suppose that she _should_..."

Viktoria didn't fail to see the slight eye roll that the woman in front of her had given her in response to her statement. She simply crossed her arms and gave Aurelia a small, indignant pout. How the _hell_ was she supposed to nonchalantly bring up the fact that her eldest daughter was coming back from the military, and that she may also need a place to stay too?! It wasn't any secret that Winter was also unwelcome back into the Schnee household; as she chose to serve the country, rather than her father. Viktoria was also positive that her child had joined the Valerian army to get away from that man. Nevertheless, it would seem that Winter had stumbled onto a newfound love for her job, and the Schnee woman was genuinely happy for her.

With regards to her current living situation... Yeah, Viktoria had no idea what to do. She knew that her daughter had enough income to get a place of her own, but with such short notice it was going to take a while to find one. So that meant that she needed a place to stay momentarily. And the Schnee Matron knew that the only person who would be willing to open her house to her child was a certain Cat-Faunus woman. Before Viktoria could continue to lament over her small situation, she was immediately jolted from her thoughts by the abrupt, and somewhat obnoxious, opening of the Lodge's front doors. The Schnee Matron instantly whipped her head around to outright glare at the fool who decided that it was acceptable to enter this type of environment in such a way. However, the white-haired woman's breath hitched momentarily once she recognized just who had walked into those doors.

Currently leaning against the Lodge's entrance with an endorphin-infused smile plastered on her face, was one slightly sweaty Kali Belladonna.

Viktoria continued to watch on as one of the workers at the Lodge approached the Faunus woman and offered her a towel to wipe her sweat. She saw that the woman accepted the cloth gratefully, and that she began to talk quite amiably with the server who offered her the towel. The white-haired woman then observed as the Belladonna Matron raised a dismissive hand towards the man before her and politely refused, presumably, an offer for some kind of refreshment. This resulted in the server nodding accordingly and going on with his day; but not without saying a pleasant farewell to the woman before him.

The Schnee Matron smiled slightly at the interaction. Normally, the people who had memberships at _Valerian Heights_ wouldn't even bat an eye at the hospitality of the workers there. Some would even treat them unnecessarily harshly. So the Schnee imagined that Kali was a breath of fresh air for the people who worked at the establishment.

"Well isn't _that_ one infatuated smile you've got on there..."

Viktoria blushed slightly and then glared at the redheaded woman across from her, "Quiet, Nikos."

Aurelia simply leaned back into her chair and playfully raised her arms in defense at the Schnee. But then Viktoria caught onto the small, devious smile that formed on the Nikos' face and she squinted her eyes suspiciously at the woman. She then inwardly sighed in resignation at the probable actions that the redhead was going to take.

"Well... since you _do_ need to talk to her..." Aurelia began as she waved an arm to get the Faunus woman's attention, "Hey, Kali! Come chat with us over here!"

Viktoria's eyes widened in panic and she scrambled ungraciously to grab at the Nikos woman's arm. Unfortunately for the Schnee, the redhead's reflexes were too fast and she swiftly dodged the white-haired woman's attempt with ease. Viktoria then opted to straighten out her already wrinkle-free summer dress; all the while Aurelia observed her with unadulterated entertainment. The Schnee Matron briefly gave her a baleful expression, and then she turned her head to see if the Faunus woman had heard Aurelia's invitation.

She was immediately met with an expression of genuine happiness, and her heart almost melted at the beaming smile that she was receiving from the Faunus woman at the other side of the Lodge. Kali then nodded at the women in affirmation and began to confidently saunter her way towards them. As she made her way to their general direction, the Schnee fought _extremely hard_ to not essentially check the Faunus woman out. Obviously, she had failed, as she couldn't help but notice the confident, and borderline illegal, alluring stride that the Belladonna woman took as she walked. Her eyes then drifted from the Faunus woman's hips to her tattooed forearms. She took note of their intricate, native designs, and marvelled momentarily at their authenticity.

Even during their adolescence, Viktoria absolutely loved the way that Kali had proudly displayed her love for her culture.

A ghost of a smile reached the Schnee woman's face.

There was a lot that she had loved about-

"Hello ladies," Kali greeted.

Viktoria jumped a little at the sudden greeting, but then composed herself once more,

"Hello, Kal-...li.."

The only reason Viktoria had uttered the Kali's name in such a strange way was because she decided that _now_ was the right time to use the bottom of her shirt to wipe at the sweat on her face. In doing so, she revealed a very tanned and toned stomach that the Schnee basically ogled thoroughly with her eyes. Apparently, this small intense gaze at the woman's exposed stomach didn't go over the Faunus woman's head and she gave Viktoria a flirty smirk,

"Like what you see?" Kali teased with a wink,

In response to the Belladonna Matron's blasted flirtatious question, Viktoria's face instantly lit up and she began to sputter an incoherent, pathetic excuse of a retort. She inwardly rolled her eyes at the laughter elicited by the Nikos' Matron sitting across from her, and she simply opted scoff unconvincingly at the Faunus woman. This caused Kali to laugh light-heartedly at the Schnee while giving her another beaming smile,

"I'm just playing around, Vi! No need to take me so _seriously_ "

Aurelia then giggled once more and then proceeded to get up from her chair, "As much as I would _love_ to see how this particular interaction plays out, I'm sorry to say that I must take my leave." In response to the redhead's words, Viktoria gave her an expression of desperation. She didn't know if she could handle being with the Faunus woman alone! However, her silent plea was met with an amused and unapologetic shrug. She then watched as Aurelia began to walk away, but not before she turned around to address the Belladonna Matron,

"Oh and Kali? I, in fact, do like what I see. And I'm positive that I'm speaking for the _both_ of us here."

Viktoria immediately gestured exasperatedly at Aurelia, but she couldn't actually _do_ anything since the woman had already turned back around and continued to walk away. She then heard Kali clear her throat, and saw that she had already taken the Nikos' seat in front of her. The Schnee gave the woman a small smile, and then moved her hand to push back some of her white locks behind her right ear.

Kali leaned in and continued to smile pleasantly at the Schnee, "How have you been, Vi? Is there anything new going on with you?"

 _Oh, the only new thing that essentially trampled all over my regular, forlorn, everyday existence is your re-integration into my life._ The Schnee woman then scoffed inwardly at her thoughts. Like hell she was going to admit out loud that being around Kali threw her off constantly.

"I've been alright, Kal," Viktoria answered, "Winter's actually coming back this weekend!"

Kali perked up, "Oh! Weiss is going to be thrilled when she finds out!"

"We were planning to surprise her... but there was something that I wanted to ask you first."

The Faunus woman then propped an elbow on the table and leaned into her left hand, "You know that I'd do anything for you."

This small declaration caused Viktoria to blush yet again, and she tried to hide it by raising a fist to her face while fake coughing into it, "Ahem! W-well, I was wondering if you could let Winter stay over at your place for a little bit. It will only be for a couple of days or weeks, though! I mean, if you already have your hands full with both Blake and Weiss then-!"

The Faunus woman interrupted her by gently placing a hand over hers, "Vi, it's _fine_. Winter can stay at my house for as long as she needs."

"The same goes for Weiss too," Kali quickly added.

Viktoria then sighed in relief and gave the woman a thankful expression, "I'm so grateful that you're treating them so well, Kal,"

"I'd treat you just the same."

The Schnee's flush then returned once again, and she let herself slip and gave Kali a hopeful stare. However, it seemed like Kali caught onto what was insinuated by what she just said to Viktoria, as she detected a slight hint of pink adorning the Faunus woman's cheeks. She then watched as the Belladonna Matron coughed awkwardly into her other hand,

"I mean, what are friends for?" Kali laughed awkwardly to try and clear up some of the tension. Viktoria joined in on the laughter for a similar reason, and mentally berated herself for reacting so _dumbly_ at the Faunus woman's words.

"And as a _dear friend_ , I would like to invite you to the 'Girls Day Out' that I'm having today with Summer and Raven!" Kali suddenly exclaimed, "We were actually planning to have dinner at my place, so you're free to join us then too! And since Winter may come back today, maybe we can plan something quickly to surprise the girls..."

The Schnee Matron then smiled apprehensively at the Belladonna's offer. She didn't know if Jacques was going to take it well if he found out that she had spent the day with her old high school friends, rather than the high-class socialites that he wanted her to connect with.

She then willed her eyes to stare back at the Faunus woman, who was currently giving her an adorable expression of hopefulness; she even noticed that the woman's cat ears were perked up in anticipation.

"Please?"

And just like that...Viktoria's resolve had melted.

She gave Kali a genuine smile, "Of course, I would love to spend time with you... guys!" she made sure to add that last part at the end of her answer.

The Belladonna woman then jumped up from her seat, grabbed Viktoria's arm, and proceeded to drag her out of the Social Lodge, "Great! Then we should get going! I've promised to meet them at one of the parks near our neighbourhood."

Once they were out of the Lodge's doors, Kali's pace quickened abruptly.

"Wait, Kali-!"

"Hmm?"

The Schnee woman merely blushed at the pure joy and excitement that Kali was directing at her in that moment.

"Ugh... it's nothing, you _dunce_."

Suddenly, her breath temporarily ceased when Kali tentatively placed a hand in her own. A smile automatically found itself onto Viktoria's face at the small amount of bashfulness that the Belladonna woman had displayed in doing so, and she took in a deep breath. She then summoned all of the courage she had to return the gesture, and squeezed the Faunus woman's hand in some form of confirmation.

Kali gave Viktoria yet another beaming smile.

"Then let's go."

* * *

Raven rubbed her temples for the umpteenth time at the incessant _whining_ that her wife had elicited for the past twenty minutes. They were currently waiting for one Kali Belladonna to show up, but the woman was about... twenty minutes late. The Branwen inwardly rolled her eyes because she thought that Kali would have been one for punctuality; especially considering the kind of lifestyle she lives now. She then scoffed; who was she kidding? Even as kids, the Belladonna would always be the last one to show up to whatever gathering they had planned.

Before the dark-haired woman could inwardly lament any further about her situation, the sudden whining of their pet dog had caught her attention. She then openly groaned.

"Aww Zwei! Not you too!"

"What do you _mean_ not you too?!" Summer exclaimed.

Raven playfully rolled her eyes, "Hun, you've been whining like a little _brat_ for the past twenty minutes."

"But she's taking soooo long! too long!"

Rather than trying to reason with her cute, hyperactive wife (since she knew that there was absolutely no point in doing that; especially when she gets like _this_ ), Raven decided to trap the woman in an embrace instead. She slowly wrapped her arms around the smaller woman's torso, and rested her chin on top of her, currently _annoying_ , wife's head. When she felt that Summer had relaxed into her sudden embrace, she sighed contently. She then took in a deep breath, and delightfully noted that her wife smelled of roses. All was blissfully quiet in their small world, and Raven was content.

Well... for about maybe twenty seconds.

"Raav-omff!" Raven tightened her arms around Summer's waist to cut off the redhead's next wave of unproductive whining. She then felt the smaller woman struggle futilely within her arms. To deal with this, she opted to lean down and nuzzle her cheek against the whiny woman's face. This, in turn, caused Summer to be engulfed in a fit of giggles as she half-heartedly tried to get away from the taller woman's playful assault.

"Raven-! Can't. Breath!"

"That's the point, babe," the dark-haired woman joked (well, sort of).

"G-Gonna. D-Die-!

A devious smile formed on the Branwen's face, and then she began to lift Summer up from her feet. This resulted in the small redhead letting out a surprised yelp. The dark-haired woman then playfully swung her around in the air; and she laughed heartily,

"Oh, the sweet _silence_ that would bring!"

Summer giggled, "Raven! Oh my gosh, stop! People are staring!"

Raven then set the woman down, and placed her at arms length. She smiled, "then let them stare."

In response, Summer simply rolled her eyes at Raven's disregard for the general public. The dark-haired woman then sighed, "Sum, Kali probably got caught up in some important meeting or something! You _know_ that she owns a pretty big non-profit organization, right? I wouldn't be surprised if she gets extremely busy at times; and don't worry, we know that she's the type of person to at least let us know if she won't be able to make it. So she's going to be here soon,"

Raven watched as Summer began to display an indignant pout towards her. However, it seemed that her explanation had knocked some sense into her wife's head, as she immediately ceased her whining. Raven sighed in relief, but then she jumped slightly at the sudden way that Summer had perked up. She watched in slight confusion as the small redhead struggled to get on her tippy toes to see what was behind her.

A smile began to form on her wife's face, and she leaned in close to rest her chin on Raven's shoulder, " _Or_ she was getting busy with a certain _Schnee_." This statement caused Raven to immediately turn around to see what her wife had been looking at. An amused smile slowly found it's way to her face when she saw a rather cute, and intimate scene.

Currently walking towards their general direction, were the seemingly love-stricken duo of Kali Belladonna and Viktoria Schnee - _hand-in-hand!_

Raven smirked, "Ohhh they've got a _world_ of explaining to do."

"Never mind that! Lets go say hi!"

"Wha-? Summer, Wai-!"

She couldn't even finish her plea, as she was jolted backwards by the small woman in her arms. She then stumbled to keep up with her hyperactive wife, and in a moment's time, they were standing directly in front of the Black and White pair. Their sudden intrusion into the other women's immediate vicinity had caused the Schnee to realize where they were; this then resulted in Viktoria's eyes widening momentarily in panic, and she whipped her hand out of Kali's grasp. Raven continued to watch on in utter entertainment as the Cat-Faunus' ears flattened in disappointment.

 _Oum, these idiots are so cute!_

"Hey guys!"

Both Kali and Vi gave the hyperactive woman genuine smiles,

"Hello, Summer."

"Hey Summer!"

Before Raven could even get in a greeting of her own, Zwei had decided that _now_ was the perfect time to jump into Viktoria's arms. However, this abrupt invasion of their personal space by the dog had caused the Cat-Faunus woman to essentially _yowl_ in utter surprise.

"Zwei!" Viktoria exclaimed happily,

"That _mangy mutt_ is still alive?!" Kali questioned incredulously,

The Branwen didn't even bother to stifle her boisterous laughter at the Faunus woman's reaction; and even Summer had joined in on laughing at the Belladonna's expense. She then observed as a small scowl made it's way to Kali's face, as the Faunus woman continued to watch as the Schnee gave more affection to the dog than the Faunus woman herself. Raven's smirk widened into a full-blown smile when she knew that Kali was getting somewhat _jealous_ of their pet dog. A small wave of nostalgia suddenly hit her, as she could recall that even in their adolescence the Belladonna woman would get envious over Zwei's capability of bringing out the Schnee's giddy side.

Viktoria gasped, "He is _no_ mangy mutt! You take that back!"

Kali simply rolled her eyes. She then gave Raven an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, did we take too long to get here?"

"Don't be sorry," Raven stated dismissively, "I only had to endure like twenty minutes of Summer's whining, but what else is new?" She heard her wife utter a small, insulted 'hey!' to the latter part of her statement, but then she snaked an arm around her waist to calm her down. Summer just fell into her side, and wore a content smile. Then, they all fell into a comfortable silence as they took in their surroundings.

Suddenly, a small idea popped into the Branwen's mind,

"Ah! Since we've already walked the course of the park, why don't you two do it with Zwei too?" Raven suggested. It would seem that Raven's ploy to get the two women alone had transferred into the smaller redhead's head, as she quickly caught onto it.

"Yeah! This park is very scenic," Summer added, "and suuper _romanti-_ Agh!" Raven immediately covered her tactless wife's mouth.

"Ahem! Just go enjoy yourselves! We'll be relaxing at that park bench over there," the Branwen quickly interrupted as she gestured over to a vacant bench under a tree. In response, Viktoria just shrugged and then happily went on her way to one of the paths with Zwei enthusiastically following her lead. Kali, on the other hand, caught onto Raven's plan and seemed like she didn't know if she should either be thankful or annoyed. Nevertheless, the woman silently mouthed the words 'thank you' to the Branwen, and she merely nodded in acknowledgement.

With that, the Rose-Branwen pair made their way to said bench and sat down. Summer immediately leaned into the taller woman's neck, and Raven automatically placed an arm around her small wife's shoulders. They both then smiled contently, as they watched the receding forms of the second half of their group. The dark-haired woman then felt Summer slightly deflate in her embrace, and she turned her head to see what was wrong.

"Raven... what are they _doing?_ "

Raven tilted her head, "Um... going on a walk?"

Summer scoffed, "that's _not_ what I meant,"

"I know, I know." the raven-haired woman stated with a small laugh. She then sighed.

 _What was Kali thinking?_

Both Raven and Summer knew well enough that miracles of love weren't exactly _impossible_. Hell, the two women eventually getting married was a testament to the whole idea of 'miracles of love and romance'! Things got messy between the Rose-Branwen pair, but they worked through it and now they've got a happy family that the dark-haired woman would do _anything_ for. But with Kali's and Vi's situation...Raven couldn't be so sure. The two pair's circumstances were drastically different and she knew just how fragile both of the women's resolve's could be when they were faced with certain obstacles.

"Well, if they do end up going for it I just hope that it won't fall apart," Summer suddenly chimed, "I... I don't think that I could take seeing Vi _destroy_ herself like that again,"

Raven sighed, "I don't think I could, either."

She then frowned at the memory.

When Vi found out that Kali had _foolishly_ decided to run back to Menagerie to go 'Find herself' after she had _stupidly_ chosen the Schnee Dust Company over the Faunus girl, the Schnee had drunken herself into a stupor. And it was _bad_. In the past, Raven had seen her brother at his worst when it came to getting intoxicated, but Viktoria completely took the cake that night. She remembered that no matter how hard either she or Summer would try to get her to stop, the Schnee would just throw a large screaming fit and started to break everything in her immediate vicinity. It got to the point where even Summer began to cry. The dark-haired woman then winced at the part of the memory where she literally had to knock out Viktoria cold with a hard punch to the face.

Even now, Raven wondered just _what_ had made the Schnee woman pick a company that she didn't want, over the Faunus woman that she loved.

Raven then exhaled sharply,

"whatever they decide to do, let's just help them through it."

Summer smiled,

"Okay."

* * *

 **El oh El! This chapter was RWBY mama heavy xD I reeaaally don't want their characters to be two-dimensional, so I'm legit giving their characters small arcs in this story :P I hope that it's coming together well! Anywaysss, the next chap _may_ include the debut of a certain Schnee and possibly contain some cute, teenaged RWBY fluff. **

**I hope you guys are still enjoying the story! :P**

 **ahahaha!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Well hellooooo there again you amazing humans. Here's another chapter for y'all to enjoy; extra fluffy - just like y'all like it ;)**

* * *

Yang playfully rolled her eyes with a smile when her little sister groaned for like the bajillionth time that hour. Her smile widened marginally when she heard a loud _thwack!_ which was quickly followed by a 'shut up, you dolt!' and then immediate silence. The blonde then heard her Cat-Faunus partner for the day quietly snicker at the Red and White duo's antics, as she placed a book into one of the shelves.

"Has your sister always been so..."

Yang perked up at the sudden attempt at conversation, "Impatient? Jumpy? Whiny? Ruby?"

Blake let out a small laugh, "umm, yeah."

"Oh the kid's _always_ been like this. It used drive our dad nuts when we were younger; especially since mom- uh well, Summer-mom, was basically the same way too."

In response, Blake briefly furrowed her brows in confusion but then 'hmm'd' in understanding at the blonde's explanation for Ruby's behaviour. Yang then inwardly slumped, as she could tell that the conversation was continuing onto yet another silent lull. Unsurprisingly, the girl had learned during the past couple of hours that Blake wasn't exactly one for talking. And it wasn't like the silence was awkward. If anything, it was somewhat relaxing... for maybe the first hour or so. But now, Yang was starting to go kind of insane with the never ending silence.

Yang then frowned slightly.

Blake wasn't giving her some silent treatment because of the stunt that she pulled back in gym class... was she?

Her frown slowly transformed into a pout. _Oh C'mon! It was funny!_ the blonde thought. However, once she started think about what she did _after_ the joke, Yang kind of had a mental realization; and then suddenly, she believed that the silence (if it was a result of anger) was somewhat justified. She then smirked while she recalled the events of her small advance towards the Cat-Faunus. She really didn't peg Blake for a girl to get easily flustered like that. She just hoped that she didn't piss the Faunus girl off too much, as she genuinely did want to get to know her better.

Yang then turned to grab yet another book from the seemingly endless pile in the cart next to her. She let out a sharp sigh, and then placed the book accordingly into it's proper section of the bookshelf. When she went to grab another one, she almost let out a whine of her own at how _much_ they still had to organize.

At first, when Oobleck punished them with the task of re-organizing the history section of Beacon's library she thought they only had to rearrange a book shelf or two; _not nine._ This meant that the pairs had to re-organize three bookshelves each, and these shelves were freaking massive - like, 'you had to use library ladders to reach the top section of the shelf' kind of massive. She then inwardly scoffed at herself; she didn't know what she expected, considering that Beacon was a huge school itself - so obviously, they were going to have one of those imposingly large libraries that you basically only see in movies.

The blonde's thoughts were then interrupted by the sudden, strained grunting of the Cat-Faunus beside her. She gave the girl a side-long glance and noted, with amusement, that Blake was struggling to place a book in a spot that was slightly out of reach. Yang then smirked deviously as a small idea had entered her mind. She silently walked towards her current victim at hand, and stopped directly behind her. As smoothly as she could, she slowly lifted her left arm up; not forgetting to gently stroke the Cat-Faunus' arm too as she did so. Much to Yang's entertainment, Blake had frozen up at the sudden contact and the blonde took the book out of her hand to place it in the spot on the shelf that was _just_ out of reach. She decided to push her luck even more with the Cat-Faunus and leaned in closely.

In the most sultry voice that she could muster up, she then spoke into Blake's ear,

"You need some help, Kitten?"

"Wha-?! Yang!"

The reaction was instant. Unfortunately, the yellow-haired girl couldn't thoroughly enjoy Blake's flustered response because the Cat-Faunus had whipped her hand up to the ear that she whispered into. In doing so, she effectively punched Yang in the face, and the blonde then she suddenly felt a sharp, shooting pain at her nose. Blake then somehow thought that it was appropriate to jump back from the yellow-haired girl in shock. What the Cat-Faunus didn't consider was the fact that there was a freaking _book shelf_ behind her, and this resulted in a bunch of books from the top shelf to come toppling down towards them. To put a cherry on top to this situation, the majority of the books had fallen onto Yang, and she yelped out in pain.

"Agh- _Shit!_ "

Blake gave her a horrified look, "Oh my god, Yang! I'm so sorry!"

Yang covered both her nose and her head with her hands to ease the throbbing from the books that fell on her; and Blake's fist hitting her nose. She inwardly laughed at the situation since she believed that her karma _literally_ had hit her right back in her face. She then moved backwards from the Faunus girl, and tilted her head upwards while holding her nose.

 _Damn, Blake could pack a fucking punch!_

"No! Agh-! don't be sorry, it was mostly my fault anyways," Yang muffled behind her prosthetic hand.

Thankfully, the Cat-Faunus didn't hit her hard enough to give her a bloody nose - the situation would have been way more embarrassing and annoying if that happened. She then slowly took her hand away from her nose, and wrinkled it slightly to test out how much it actually hurt. She winced a little as it was kind of tender, but she knew that she was going to survive. To make matters slightly worse, Yang could sense that a certain brown-haired fashionista had peeked her head from the side of their bookshelf in her peripheral vision. Shortly after, her Rabbit-Faunus friend had appeared right behind Coco, and the blonde noted that she tried to get a good look from behind the girl's shoulders. She turned to face them.

"Is everything alright here?" Coco asked with a small laugh.

Velvet, on the other hand, had her eyes squinted at the blonde in suspicion, "Yang... what did you do this time?"

Yang raised her arms up in defence, "Hey! I'm not the one who knocked anything over to make this mess!"

"Yeah, you're just the one who caused it," Blake clarified with a scoff.

"Snitch."

" _Excuse_ me?"

Yang playfully rolled her eyes, and then gave the brown-haired duo a reassuring smile, "Guys, don't worry about it. We're fine!"

Coco and Velvet merely raised an eyebrow at the girl's declaration and then shrugged; with that, they both receded back to the bookshelves that they were tasked to reorganize. The yellow-haired girl then let out a sigh of relief as she just narrowly escaped an opportunity at being teased. She turned to face her partner, and was met with a concerned gaze. Yang just rubbed the back of her head nervously, and gave the Cat-Faunus an awkward smile.

"Heh... seriously, Blake. I'm all good!" Yang tried to reassure her, "Anyways, remember? I'm part of our kickboxing team. I can take a hit or two."

In response, the Cat-Faunus sighed and then went to pick up the books that had fallen onto the floor. A small smile began to find its way to the blonde's face when she noted that the raven-haired girl's ears were flattened, in what she assumed to be guilt. She shook her head with amusement, and then bent down next to the Cat-Faunus to help her clean up their mess. While she did so, she saw that Blake gave her a small glance; and suddenly, another (more mild) idea popped into Yang's head.

She then gently grabbed the book that Blake currently had in her hand, and this resulted in the Cat-Faunus giving her an adorable expression of confusion.

Yang simply winked at Blake, and proceeded to lightly tap the Cat-Faunus' head with the spine of the book.

"There. That's my payback,"

Much to the girl's never-ending amusement, the blonde could detect a slight hint of pink beginning to form on the Faunus' face. She then watched with an amused smile as Blake coughed into her hand nervously, "Uh.. Y-yeah."

The Cat-Faunus continued on to swiftly grab the book out of Yang's hand, stood up, and then placed it into it's proper section on the bookshelf. Satisfied thoroughly with her actions, Yang followed suit and placed yet another book from the cart into the shelf too. Their interaction then went on to fall into another comfortable silence; although, this time around Yang was somewhat okay with it since the commotion she caused provided her with enough entertainment. They continued on like this for a while, and before the blonde knew it, the bookshelf that they were currently re-organizing was basically done.

Blake let out a sigh of relief, "Thank _Oum_ , that means that we only have one more shelf to do. We actually might be done our section by the end of today."

"I don't know if we could say the same for the rest of the group, though," Yang mentioned with a laugh.

Blake snorted slightly at that; as she knew that Yang was referring to the candy cane-themed pair of their group. From what Yang could hear during the past couple of hours, it would seem that Weiss and Ruby spent more time bickering/flirting than organizing their quota of bookshelves. The blonde began to smile at the thought of their antics; she didn't know if her sister was oblivious to her own actions towards the Schnee or not. But she knew for a fact that Ruby was totally into Weiss - that much was obvious.

However, before Yang could continue to dwell on Ruby's adorable actions, the blonde began to wince at the slowly developing burning sensation emanating from her amputated limb. Then, the burning abruptly transformed into the feeling of tiny little needles poking at her right forearm and the blonde began to fidget.

"Agh, dammit. Not now..." the blonde hissed under her breath.

Even though the limb had been amputated for almost a decade now, every once in a while the phantom limb pain would come back and create inconvenient feelings for her. In an attempt to ease the pain, Yang began to rub at the junction between her prosthetic and the bottom of her right arm to try and remind her body that the limb was no longer there. She exhaled sharply as the action did little to relieve the pain that she was currently feeling. She then jolted upright when she felt that Blake gently began take her right prosthetic forearm into her hands.

Yang let out an awkward laugh, "Y-you don't need to worry abou-"

"Yang, take your prosthetic off."

"Blake, seriously you don't need to. The phantom pain will pass; and it's kind of gross to look at and-!"

Blake shut her up by giving her an expression of genuine concern. Her eyes were lit up with empathy, and she gave Yang a small smile devoid of pity. The blonde then sighed and began to take the limb off; as she knew that arguing with the Cat-Faunus was probably going to get her no where. In response to her cooperation, Blake uttered a small 'Thank you' and proceeded to gingerly massage the girl's stump. At first, it seemed like the Faunus girl's actions were ineffective, but then as she continued to massage the limb firmly, she could feel that the pain was starting to be alleviated. The blonde then gave Blake a questioning look.

"My dad lost his left arm while he was in the military," the Cat-Faunus explained, "whenever he'd get phantom pain, my mother would do this for him."

Yang hummed in understanding at the Cat-Faunus' words, but then she furrowed her brows in confusion. Blake caught this subtle expression and chuckled, "He's not around anymore... have you heard about the _Assassination_ _of the Mistral Faunus Movement?_ "

The blonde inwardly punched herself in the face, as she could feel where this conversation was going.

"Yeah, I've heard. I don't think there's _anybody_ who hasn't heard about that incident."

Blake then sighed, "Well...my father was the guy who those Anti-Faunus terror groups assassinated; and they killed and terrorized many other innocent Faunus and humans alike during that time."

"Blake, I'm so sorry to hear that," Yang didn't know what else to say in this situation.

"It's not your fault that the world is filled with so much hate, Yang. But the gesture is appreciated."

"I'm sure he was a great man."

Blake gave the yellow-haired girl a small smile, "he was."

Before Yang knew it, her phantom pain episode felt like it ceased. The sensation of pins and needles stabbing at her limb were no longer present, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Blake seemed to have noticed this sudden change in the girl's demeanour and slowed the pace of her massage. Eventually, the Cat-Faunus stopped her motions and gave the blonde a tentative glance.

"Feeling better?"

Yang nodded, "Yup. My body's totally starting to remember that my forearm isn't there anymore." She put her prosthetic back on.

"Right," Blake said as she playfully rolled her eyes.

Yang then beamed a mega-watt smile at the girl, "Thanks Blake!"

Before the Cat-Faunus could even reply to the fiery blonde, a certain fashionista had suddenly chimed in, "Well, if you're done giving Yang a _hand job,_ Blake... Can we be on our way to leave the library now?"

The abruptness of the brown-haired girl's interruption caused both Yang and Blake to jump and whip their heads around to the small audience that they gathered - which was simply just both of their brown-haired friends; but when Coco's inquiry had processed, _both_ the black and yellow girls reacted. The crudeness of Coco's joke even made Yang blush; and she wasn't usually the type to act bashful towards dirty jokes. Blake, on the other hand, was wildly unimpressed by Coco's words and glared at the girl.

"Coco, what the _hell_?"

Coco shrugged, "Well _Blakey_ , you were getting a little _handsy_ with-"

"Coco?" Velvet suddenly interrupted. Much to Yang and Blake's utter surprise, the fashionista immediately stopped teasing the Cat-Faunus and gave her undivided attention to the Rabbit-Faunus.

"uh, yeah V-Velv?"

Yang raised an eyebrow at this.

 _Velv?_

"Could you ease up on teasing Blake? I think she was just trying to help Yang out, and it's kinda mean."

A small smile began to form on Yang's face when she could _feel_ that it was physically torturing the fashionista to stop making jokes at Blake's expense. However, much to the blonde's utter _amusement,_ Coco let out a deep sigh and crossed her arms,

"I suppose I was being a tad too mean there. Alright, I'll stop."

Yang almost started to guffaw at the way in which Blake had her jaw dropped in absolute shock. To add more to the blonde's mirth, she observed as Velvet beamed the fashionista a brilliant smile and thanked her - to which Coco responded by simply blushing and uttering a small 'uh, yeah.'

The blonde then let out a hearty laugh,

"Alright, since we're all basically _do-"_

 _CRASH!_

Everybody then whipped their heads towards the abrupt sound.

"YOU FREAKING DOLT!"

* * *

"YOU FREAKING DOLT!"

Weiss had _no idea_ how the feat that Ruby had just pulled was even physically possible.

There the former heiress was, standing before a hideous pile of books that they've _just_ finished re-organizing on their bookshelf. She honestly could not fathom _why_ the hyperactive redhead thought it was appropriate to try and place their very last book in the top shelf by fucking _climbing_ the said bookshelf, rather than waiting for Weiss to get a library ladder. She then gave Ruby a baleful look; to which the redhead responded with an awkward laugh.

Ruby rubbed the back of her head, and gave Weiss an awkward smile, "I thought that it'd be faster if I did it this way?"

"Oh _really_ now..."

"Y-yes...?" the hyperactive redhead squeaked in fear.

"You _stupid_ fucki-!"

"Whoa whoa whoa! what happened here!?" Yang suddenly exclaimed.

The blonde's abrupt interruption caused the former heiress to jump and emit a grim-like sound of shock. Ruby, on the other hand, perked up at the opportunity of possible refuge and beamed at her sister. The former heiress then watched with annoyance as the redhead ran behind Yang in some hope that her sister would act as a human shield. She then noted that they gathered the attention of the rest of their group; and that the majority of them were openly giving the two girls looks of unadulterated mirth.

"Agh-! Ruby, cut it out! Tell us what happened, the place is a freaking mess!"

"You can thank your genius _sister_ for that," Weiss began with an eye roll, "she thought that it would be more _efficient_ if she climbed the damn bookshelf to finish our job here."

This sudden bit of information immediately caused the rest of the girls to guffaw. Although yes, the prospect of someone climbing a 15-foot tall bookshelf to get to the top is somewhat funny; however, since they had to completely re-organize the shelf and _not_ cause the majority of the books to come crashing down, Weiss wasn't too amused. The former heiress then almost screeched because this meant that they had a lot more work to do tomorrow.

"If you guys are finished laughing at our situation, could you help us with the clean up?"

Coco then scoffed, "Weiss, just place the fallen books into the library carts. It's already a quarter to five and I want to leave this dusty library."

After pondering her dwindling tolerance for doing the task of re-organizing the bookshelf once again, Weiss then decided that the productivity wasn't worth it. She sighed with resignation, "Alright, fine. Let's just clean this mess up and go."

And with that, the girls began to pick up the books that Ruby had knocked over from the shelf. Thankfully, all six of them were doing the task as it would've taken them a lot more longer to place the books in the library carts. When they finally finished, they left the massive library and made their way out of Beacon Academy.

Weiss sighed for the umpteenth time.

Blake chuckled at the girl, "Long day?"

"Too long," the former heiress answered.

Coco laughed, "Really? It would seem that you spent the majority of it flirting shamelessly with our little redhead friend, though."

"Be careful, Coco. Or I'll tell Velve- I mean, _Velv,_ " Blake teased.

Weiss observed with amusement as the fashionista's face lit up, and that she whipped her head around to see if the girls from the other trio had heard the Cat-Faunus. The former heiress also chanced a glance at the trio too, and noted that they were simply walking behind them talking amicably with each other. She then turned her head to face the fashionista once more, and smirked.

" _Velv_?"

Coco opened her mouth to respond to the white-haired girl, but then Blake beat her to it.

"Coco here is _whipped_."

Weiss openly laughed at that, "You're not _serious_ , are you?"

"I'm completely serious."

The fashionista then scoffed at the girls teasing. And much to the former heiress' mild surprise, the brown-haired girl didn't even _try_ to defend herself. She just observed as the girl merely crossed her arms in annoyance and rolled her eyes at them. Weiss wondered in the back of her mind how the brunette girls' interaction went; as she knew that she made a particular suggestion for the fashionista regarding her frustration towards her relationship with the Rabbit-Faunus.

 _Did she finally ask Velvet to dinner?_

Unfortunately, Weiss couldn't verbally inquire about Coco's developing relationship with the Rabbit-Faunus as Ruby believed that it was appropriate to glomp her. The former heiress immediately cursed her cheeks as they lit up automatically at the proximity in which the redhead had accustomed herself to with her. Weiss was positive that Ruby had _no_ sense of spatial awareness at all; seeing as she would consistently invade the former heiress' personal space no matter how much she would either threaten or plead with the girl to stop.

"R-Ruby, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Ruby smiled at her as she continued her embrace, "getting you to forgive me?"

The downright illegally adorable way in which the redhead earnestly answered Weiss almost made her squeal. She noted that the redhead currently was ridiculously reminiscent to a cute dog; and the former heiress was absolutely weak in the presence of them. Seriously, she transformed to a whole new person when she interacted with any type of canine.

Weiss then recomposed herself, "A-and why would you think that borderline assaulting me would do so?" This was preposterous! The former heiress _wanted_ the hyperactive girl to explain her thought process.

"I-I was told by my Ma that to get a girl to forgive me, I had to hold them until they did...?"

Weiss gave the girl an utterly baffled expression. _What_ kind of advice was their mother giving her?!

Suddenly, Yang chimed in once again and began to laugh.

"Rubes, when Ma was telling you that advice she started with: 'to get _your_ girl to forgive you...,'" the yellow-haired girl clarified, "unless Weiss is already your girl, I don't think the advice is applicable here. So I think you should let her go now."

Ruby simply slowly blushed and let out a small 'ohhhh' to this new bit of information. Weiss then continued to observe as Ruby smiled sheepishly at the her, while carefully taking her arms away from her from body.

"I don't know, Yang," Velvet began, "from the nonstop flirting that they were doing at the library, I wouldn't be surprised if Ruby managed to sweep Weiss off her feet with her awkward charm,"

Both Weiss and Ruby then gave the Rabbit-Faunus an incredulous look. Sure, the former heiress expected the other two girls from her trio and maybe Yang to make some immature, offhanded remark about Ruby; however, she didn't think _Velvet_ of all people would tease her. The White and Red pair then reacted accordingly,

"There certainly weren't any feet that were swept!"

"Veeeelv, what the heck!?"

Everyone else merely laughed at the Schnee girl and the redhead. Weiss couldn't help it if Ruby was a horrible, unintentional flirt! Throughout their entire time spent in the library, the redhead would consistently give the former heiress a barrage of flattering comments. And most of the time, Weiss would reply by calling the girl a dolt or by telling her to shut up.

She really didn't know how to deal with Ruby.

"Jeez, little sister. Just ask her on a date already!" Yang suddenly remarked.

"Little sister?" Blake questioned, "Aren't you guys like the same age? Sorry, I just assumed that you both had the same donor dad or something,"

Ruby awkwardly laughed at the inquiry, "hehe, actually no. I'm two years younger than everybody! And as for the dad thing... well, I'll just say that we aren't test tube babies. Not going to get into details about that now, but you should _totally_ get Ma and Mom to tell you their story. It's literally like one of those 'Miracle of Love' type of stories and it's super sweet and-!"

"Rubes, you're rambling," Velvet interrupted. The redhead simply rubbed the back of her head and smiled awkwardly yet again. Weiss, on the other hand, was openly giving the hyperactive redhead a look of utter confusion; as the majority of the students that attended Beacon _had_ to be at least seventeen years old to enrol.

"Wait, so then _how_ did you get into Beacon?" Weiss asked

"Well, like Yang mentioned before, we're kind of a special case; all three of us." Ruby began, "As you can probably already tell, we don't exactly look like we belong in Beacon's environment."

"Like you've sort of mentioned before a while back, Blake" Velvet added,

"Yeah! You see, the three of us got into Beacon Academy through scholarships; like, without these scholarships we wouldn't be able to afford to go here at all," Ruby continued to explain, "Yang got in on a sports and athletics scholarship - mainly for kickboxing, but she's naturally good at any kind of sport; Velvet is here on an arts scholarship - her specialty is photography by the way, and she is _amazing_ at it; and finally, although it might not seem like it, I got here on an academics scholarship. Personally, I would say my area of skill would be machine/weapons mechanics and dust physics! Which makes a whole lot of sense since I wanna eventually take over Mom's business in the future and that I'm actually a _huge_ weapon nerd and-!"

"You're rambling again, Ruby..." Yang interjected.

The hyperactive redhead coughed into her hand, "A-Ahem! so yup. That's kind of how I got into Beacon despite my age!"

Weiss then hummed in understanding. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was actually pretty impressed by the redhead. Getting into Beacon on a scholarship, let alone an _academic_ scholarship, was no easy feat (from what the former heiress heard). In addition, the whole 'her being two years younger' thing made a lot of sense considering how ridiculously immature the girl could be. However, now that the redhead had revealed that she actually wasn't a total dolt, Weiss was somewhat intrigued. Suddenly, she remembered the dinner inquiry that Kali wanted Blake to ask the other girls, and Weiss decided to take it upon herself to ask them.

"W-well, then if you don't mind," Weiss began, "Would the two of you like to come over for dinner? Your parents are going to be at our place anyways..."

"Coco and Velvet, you two can come as well!" the former then quickly added,

Velvet chuckled, "thanks, Weiss. But I'm going to have to pass on the offer; I've got work from seven to midnight today."

"and as much as I would _love_ to see how this 'dinner with the girlfriend's parents' goes, I unfortunately can't come either. I'm being forced to go to dinner with Juliette."

Despite Coco's stupid comment about the girls being their 'girlfriends,' she still gave the fashionista a look of genuine concern. She knew that the girl's relationship with her mother was absolute shit; and that every time she would leave from an interaction with the fashion icon, she would be upset. Coco merely responded by waving her hand dismissively and mouthing the words 'it's fine.'

"Yeah we'd love to go!" Yang answered. Ruby simply cemented the girl's reply by beaming a smile at the former heiress and nodding excitedly.

Blake smiled, "Great! Mom will be excited." The girl's eyes then slowly widened, "Oh Oum, I hope she doesn't get _too_ excited and does something embarrassing..."

"Oh now we've _got_ to go," Yang smirked.

"I wanna see your room, Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed; she then blushed, "AH! I-it's not like I want to _do_ anything with you in your room or anything! Don't get the wrong idea from what I'm sayi-!"

"D-Dolt! I wasn't thinking about that at all!" Weiss yelled as she flushed at an impressive shade of red, "b-but I _do_ want to discuss with you about how you got into Beacon in more detail and what school's/cities you lived in before Vale; we never actually talk about _you_..."

This small interest in Ruby's life caused the hyperactive girl to immediately beam at the Schnee, "O-Oh awesome! Yeah, okay!"

The former heiress was then taken by surprise when Ruby decided to link arms with her,

"Lets get going!"

Weiss began to stutter, "W-wait, you dol-!"

Ruby then dragged her away...

towards the wrong direction.

* * *

 **LOL okay so Winter wasn't introduced in this one; but keep a lookout for her in the next chapter! Also... I was thinking about making a prequel fic about Raven and Summer's story because I had a looooot of ideas regarding their relationship! (and by 'thinking' I mean yeah, it's probably going to happen. I love their ship like waay too much - like I just can't _not_ write about it!) I'm reeeaally going to start doing one-on-one relationship developments in the upcoming chapters. ****I hope yall are still liking the story!**

 **Anywayss...**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter**


	15. Chapter 15

**Please keep your hands inside the emotional roller coaster at all times; and please enjoy this chapter that I've written for all of you adorable people ;P.**

* * *

Ruby was happy; like, super happy at the moment.

It might have been because she was finally out of that dumb, dusty library; _o_ _r..._ maybe it might have been due to the fact that Weiss didn't try to snake her way out of Ruby's linked arm yet. They had to part ways with both Coco and Velvet a while back, and now the four of them were walking through the neighbourhood; with Blake and Weiss giving the two a pseudo-tour of the general area. The redhead also happily noted that along the way, Weiss had begun to hold onto _her_ rather than the other way around.

The hyperactive redhead then saw something cool and tugged slightly at Weiss' arm to get her attention.

"Oooh! Hey, Weiss. What's that super fancy building over there?"

"Ah-! Ruby stop pulling my arm so hard!" Weiss cried out, "and that's this neighbourhood's country club; _Valerian Heights_."

Yang laughed, "A _Country_ Club? Do you play polo on Saturday's with your trusty steeds?"

Ruby decided to join in, "Do you guys also have designated days for ornate, fancy-schmancy dinners to discuss the political ethics regarding the use of physical labour in the dust mines?" she said with a weird accent. Despite the light-heartedness of their teasing, she inwardly punched herself in the face since both Blake and Weiss responded by giving her unimpressed looks. Well, Blake never seemed to be impressed by anything for that matter, but Ruby had a feeling that's just how Blake was with her facial expressions. The redhead then inwardly panicked as she could feel that Weiss began to move herself on her side.

"I-I was just jok-!"

" _Yes_ " Weiss then sarcastically remarked as she adjusted her position on Ruby's arm, "and right after, we drink wine imported from the exotic desserts of Vacuo,"

Ruby let out a sigh of relief and then giggled at that, "Do each of the bottles come with a butler to serve you this 'international wine'?"

Weiss gave her a small smile, "Yeah; and they all have those stereotypical butler names that you would think they'd have,"

"Like..." Ruby then made herself a fake moustache with the ends of her hair and wiggled her upper lip, "mmmmffh... _Chives_?"

Then, Weiss did something that Ruby never thought she could get her to do.

She snorted.

Like a cute, little pig.

And Ruby absolutely _loved_ it.

"I don't think I've ever heard her snort before," Blake remarked with an amused smile.

Weiss lit up like a christmas tree and tried to hide it by looking away from Ruby; while covering her cheeks with her other arm. Yang and the redhead, on the other hand, were enjoying themselves thoroughly and laughing at the Schnee's reaction. The redhead was laughing more so because she found that the uncharacteristic reaction was downright _adorable_.

"S-shut up, Blake!" the white-haired girl exclaimed. Blake merely smiled and raised her arms in defence at the Schnee.

Ruby then decided to poke a little more at the former heiress, "awww! Don't be embarrassed, Weiss! Your snort is super cute!"

In response, Weiss just rolled her eyes and flushed slightly at her words. Despite the eye roll, the hyperactive redhead didn't feel discouraged at all; as she had learned within the past few days that the former heiress didn't mean anything rude by it when it came to her actions. Ruby then wondered in the back of her mind if Weiss' tolerance for her antics meant that she had somewhat reciprocated the attraction that the redhead had been feeling towards her.

She wasn't going to deny the fact that she was utterly smitten with the white-haired beauty.

Ruby truly didn't know what was pulling her towards Weiss; she just knew that every time she was with the girl, she would feel naturally attracted to her and would want to be by her side.

But, unlike her sister, she wasn't exactly 'smooth' with her advances towards the people that she liked. Most of the time, the things that she'd say would unintentionally come out of her mouth; and she had this horrible tendency to ramble on and on about things that people didn't really care about. Also, during the times where she _would_ actually intentionally try to flirt with a girl, her words would become a jumbled mess and she'd end up looking and sounding like an awkward fool. Yang would tell her that her awkwardness was part of her charm, but Ruby didn't know how she felt about that. She wasn't sure if her awkwardness was something that could also be charming. If anything, it always placed her in situations that she'd rather not be in.

"Seriously, Rubes. Even though the flirting is cute, it's kind of starting to become obnoxious," her sister suddenly teased.

Ruby groaned, "Yaaang! stop with the unnecessary commentary!?" she then hid herself in her red hoodie to try and hide her own forming blush.

Everyone was telling her that she was flirting with Weiss but she really wasn't...? at least not intentionally! She just had this hideous habit of speaking what was on her mind. She couldn't help it if all she thought about was how pretty Weiss' hair was; or how gorgeous her facial features were; Oh, and if someone would look closely enough, her _body_...

The redhead's eyes widened at her thoughts. Okay so that last part she had to actively prevent herself from saying out loud.

Yang laughed at the redhead's reaction, but then decided to change the topic and addressed their Cat-Faunus friend, "Sooo, when will we reach your humble abode, M'lady?"

"It's just another two streets down... uh, good sir," Blake replied; Ruby noted that she did so without as much gusto as Yang, but at least she was playing along.

The redhead then rolled her eyes while she was in her hoodie; and Yang said that _her_ flirting was obnoxious...

Suddenly, a thought popped into Ruby's mind and she emerged from her red-hooded fortress to address the Schnee at her arm. She then perked up, "I know that you're living with Blake right now, but does your family live in this neighbourhood too?"

The abrupt way in which the redhead asked Weiss the question caused the girl to jump a little, "Yeah, my family lives here too. The Schnee estate is on top of the highest hill in this neighbourhood," the white-haired girl answered, "you'd think that living in this gated community would be obnoxious enough for my idiot father but _no,_ we just had to live on the most annoyingly highest, and _steepest_ part of the stupid fuckin-!"

"Weiss? You're ranting..." Blake interjected with amusement.

"And rightfully so! Goodness, I couldn't even walk up to my own home if I wanted to; I'd have to ride in with a car to get there. Jacques is so fucking impractical."

"I'm just guessing here, but I'm sensing some deep-rooted disdain for your father," Yang commented.

Weiss scoffed, "That's an understatement."

Blake simply rolled her eyes with a small smile at the former heiress' words. Ruby, however, frowned at them. A father shouldn't cause this much trouble for their kid. She then wondered what the extent of the white-haired girl's relationship with her dad was; but decided not to question Weiss about it at that moment, as the topic seemed to rile her up. Instead, their conversation simply transitioned into a comfortable, silent lull. Before they knew it, they were standing right in front of Blake's _really nice_ house. Seriously, it was, for lack of a better phrase, _really freaking nice!_

It was one of those modern-looking houses that were geometrically aesthetic! Unsurprisingly, the exterior of the Belladonna house had a monochromatic colour scheme; and was black and grey. The redhead noted that it looked really sleek. She continued to stare on in awe at the house as Ruby only ever saw these types of homes in either movies or those fancy ads that would try to sell them. She then heard Yang let out a low, long whistle.

"Wow, Blake! Your house is...Wow!"

"Great vocabulary you've got there, Yang," Blake responded with an eye roll, "Come on, lets head inside; the car's here so I think our parents might be there too."

Ruby immediately perked up, "Sounds great. Let's go, Weiss!" she then began to drag the white-haired girl towards the front door.

"Wha-? Ruby could you stop pulling at me!?"

The redhead beamed a smile at the grumpy Schnee, "What? I can't hear you over my excitme-AGH!"

"Ruby!"

Apparently she had been way too excited because she failed to notice the little raised divet at the doorway, and successfully tripped right over it when she opened the door. This, in turn, caused Weiss to come toppling after her. Then, every thing seemed to happen in slow motion for the hyperactive redhead. Somehow, she had managed to accidentally shove Weiss inside the house before her, and watched on in horror as she began to come crashing down towards the white-haired girl.

 _THUD!_

Weiss groaned in pain; Then, there was Ruby who immediately lit up at the position that the they were both currently in at the moment. There Ruby was, with her right knee between Weiss' legs and her face inches away from hers. The redhead had her left hand beside the former heiress' head with her elbow propping herself up; however, as for her right hand... Ruby then furrowed her brows in confusion.

Where _was_ her right hand?

She knew that the limb was somewhere on Weiss' body. But with the position that they were currently in, the redhead couldn't actually see what she was holding. She frowned as she could not for the life of her figure out what the body part was. The redhead then observed that when the former heiress finally came to, her face slowly began to redden in embarrassment. Suddenly, Ruby began to mimic the white-haired girl's behaviour since she started to have a good feeling as to what she was holding. She then prayed to whatever God there was, and willed herself to stare down to where her right hand was.

 _Oh God, no._

 _Nooo, no no no no._

 _I'm touching her freaking boob!_

Ruby flitted her gaze immediately back to Weiss' face, and she could feel that her own eyes almost popped out of her eye sockets. Weiss, on the other hand, wasn't staring back at her and actually was staring at something that was out of her line of vision. The redhead then jumped slightly when she heard that a new voice had suddenly chimed in.

"Weiss, I'm ho-! oh my..."

Ruby then whipped her head towards the voice; and was met with a Weiss look-a-like. The woman before her was ridiculously physically reminiscent to the former heiress, with the exception that she had sharper features. The redhead also noted that she was wearing a pair of camouflage-styled combat pants and a simple white tee. She didn't know what it was about her, but the woman before just seemed a little bit more... _frigid_ than Weiss. However, that notion was somewhat debunked when a small smirk began to form on the woman's face.

"Am I interrupting something here? I can come back later if you want, Weiss."

The redhead then slowly stared back at the white-haired girl beneath her, but was taken aback by the beaming _smile_ that the girl was emitting towards the woman before them.

"Winter!"

"Weiss, wai- Oomf-!" Ruby groaned when she was shoved rather unceremoniously onto the floor.

She then stared on as the former heiress trapped the older woman in an embrace, and saw that the white-haired girl had begun to cry tears of joy. The redhead then stood up and dusted herself off. She turned around and gave Blake a questioning look as she pointed a thumb back towards the two white-haired women's general direction.

"Who-?"

"That's Weiss' sister, Winter," Blake began to explain with a smile, "And it appears that she just came back from the military,"

Ruby paled, "The M-Military?" She was absolutely positive that groping the woman's little sister's boob wasn't exactly the best way to make a good first impression.

Yang then began to guffaw,

"Oh you are _so dead_."

* * *

 _Oh I'm so dead_.

She didn't know if she was either going to die from the tense awkwardness in the air, or by the hand of one Winter Schnee. But Ruby knew for fact that although the woman had found her accidental stunt initially funny, the older Schnee woman probably felt unimpressed by the redhead. Or... at least that was the vibe that Ruby was getting from her. Weiss, on the other hand, seemed to have forgotten completely about the incident and hasn't stop smiling ever since she saw her sister. Currently, the former heiress was sitting right beside Ruby on one of the couches, with the girl's older sister sitting across from them silently scrutinizing the redhead as Weiss was telling her what she missed out on during the past year. Everyone else was scattered across the living room listening to Weiss' story with amused smiles plastered on their faces.

Ruby was positive that their small audience was more amused by the hyperactive girl's situation, rather than what the two sister's were talking about; as it seemed that they also observed the incident at the doorway.

 _Oh god, even Weiss' mom saw me basically grope her daughter's boob!_

She then chanced a glance at the Schnee Matron, who was currently sitting with Blake's mom at a small coffee table near the entrance to the backyard. She immediately reddened at the smile of acknowledgement that she received from the woman when they locked gazes, and then she whipped her head to the side. The redhead wanted to retreat back into her red-hooded fortress of solitude oh so badly at the moment. However, the continuous, excited chatter coming from the white-haired girl had prevented her from doing so.

"Oh Kali and Blake have been treating me extremely well!" Weiss went on, "and we've just started school at Beacon Academy about a week ago! I'll have you know that although our grade reports haven't been shown to us yet, I'm still essentially on _top_ of- OW!"

Ruby briefly glanced at the two Schnee women, and noted with amusement that Winter gave her little sister an impressive flick to the forehead. The woman then gave the white-haired girl an exasperated smile, "Stupid. When I asked you how you've been, I want to know about the aspects of your life that _aren't_ related to academics; like if you've been staying on top of your health, and if you've made any... _friends_." The redhead noted when Winter had said that last part, she was staring directly at her.

"Oh..." Weiss rubbed her forehead, "Well, Ruby here is my friend!"

Ruby then whipped her head around to stare at Weiss, and perked up marginally at the declaration that the white-haired girl just made about their relationship.

"I can see that," Winter remarked as she continued to scrutinize the redhead, "and Ruby, would you mind telling me just how this _friendship_ came to be?"

The redhead almost squeaked in panic at being suddenly addressed by the intimidating white-haired woman. Her posture went ramrod straight, and for some reason she looked for Weiss for permission; surprisingly, the Schnee girl gave her a smile of confirmation and that seemed to give Ruby the courage that she needed to answer Winter's question.

"Heh, Well it kind of started when I rammed right into Weis-"

"You _what_?" Winter interrupted,

Ruby's eyes widened in panic and she began to wave her arms frantically at the Schnee, "I mean-! It was an accident! I-It was the first day of school, a-and I was running in the hallway, wait no-! uh I was going to be late for class-! not that I'm _always_ late for class or anything; I'll have you know that punctuality is like a _huge_ thing with me, but heh- uh..."

 _Oh my God what is wrong with me?!_

Winter raised an amused eyebrow at the redhead, and then she turned to face her little sister. She gave Weiss an entertained expression, but then the redhead saw that the woman began to furrow her brows in concern at the white-haired girl. She observed as the woman continued on to gently grab her sister's face, then she tilted it to the side, and traced the scar on the former heiress' left eye.

"Is that how she got this scar?"

Weiss whipped her head out of her sister's grasp, "What?! No! Ruby didn't do this to me!"

"Oh so you admit that someone did this to you?"

Ruby then gave the former heiress a concerned look of her own too.

"N-no! I-it was an accident... I -um, fell and..." Weiss trailed off. The redhead had a feeling that the girl wasn't capable of lying to her sister; which was something that Ruby could one hundred percent relate to. She could _never_ get anything past Yang's head, no matter how hard she'd try.

"Who did this to you, Weiss?"

Ruby winced slightly at the menacing tone that Winter's voice had taken. When Weiss responded to the woman with apprehensive silence, the Schnee woman then turned to their mother.

"Mother, who did this to Weiss?"

Suddenly, the entire room went silent.

Ruby noted that although Winter's demeanour seemed to be calm on the surface, but she could feel that the woman's anger was ready to erupt. The redhead then turned her head to face Viktoria; who seemed to have her jaw set, and held an unreadable expression. The two Schnee women were then engaged in a tense stare off.

Her head then whipped around to Weiss when she heard the girl sigh with resignation.

"I got the scar after the disinheritance, Winter..."

In response, the girl's older sister crossed her arms and then looked at her with expectance. After a couple of moments, the Schnee girl finally continued to answer her older sister.

"From father," Weiss mumbled, "He gave me this scar."

" _What_ ," Winter then glared accusingly at their mother, " _How_ could you have let this happen to her, mother?!"

Viktoria flared, "Don't you _dare_ blame me for the actions that your _bastard_ of a father makes!"

"Fine. Then I'll blame you for the lack of actions that you take to stop his fucking tyranny!" Winter screeched, "She's a fucking _child_ , mother. _Your_ child!"

The Schnee Matron then shot up from her chair while successfully knocking the coffee table over. Ruby then watched as the two women angrily stalked up towards each other, and the redhead was almost positive that this was going to get ugly really fast. She then opted to observe how every one else reacted; she saw that her mothers were tensed up, ready to grab the Schnee Matron at any time. She then turned to Kali, who was still seated at her chair with her fists clenched, and wore an unreadable expression. Then there was Blake and Yang who held expressions of genuine concern for the escalating situation.

"I'm well enough aware that Weiss is my _child_ , Winter!" Viktoria seethed,

"Then start fucking acting like you know it! _Why_ didn't you do anything to stop him?!"

"I couldn't have done anything about it because I wasn't _there_ when it happened!" The Schnee Matron screamed, "I-If I was _there_ , I would have-!"

Winter scoffed, "I don't want to hear your excuses, mother."

 _SMACK._

Ruby stared in absolute shock as Viktoria slapped Winter across the face. The younger Schnee woman slowly turned her face back around towards her mother, and Ruby almost paled at the unadulterated resentment that Winter displayed towards the Schnee Matron. She then observed as the white-haired girl's older sister slowly clenched her fists, but in a flash, the Belladonna Matron held Winter's arm back.

"Winter... your mother has been through a lot too," Kali began, "she had to sacrifice so much... please, try to be more understanding. I feel that you both need to talk about this calmly, and privately."

After a tense moment, Winter relaxed marginally and sighed, "Fine."

Before Kali could address Viktoria, the Schnee Woman briskly stomped her way towards the stairway that led to the upper level of the house. The Belladonna Matron then sighed, "I'll go see if she's okay." Kali didn't even wait for anyone else to acknowledge what she said and immediately went after the Schnee woman.

The sudden, _broken,_ muffled sobs of the Schnee girl beside her caused Ruby to whip her head around to face her.

Ruby's heart broke when she saw that Weiss let her tears freely fall from her eyes.

In an instant, the redhead wrapped an arm around the former heiress' shoulders and she began to offer her sounds of comfort.

"Shh... Shh, Weiss. It's going to be okay."

Ruby then felt that Weiss reached over to wrap her arms around her too; then her heart cried out in pain when the girl began to cry even harder.

Ruby shut her eyes tight and trapped the girl in a tight embrace,

"You're going to be okay."

* * *

 **Welp, that ended on an unfun, and dramatic note didn't it?**

 **I'm sensing a flashback of Weiss' disinheritance in the near future. Also you _may_ see some lethal Whiterose fluff ;) LMAO I love writing their relationship; the polarity of their personalities makes it too much fun xD**

 **ahaa I hope you beautiful people are still enjoying the story!**

 **Until Next Time,  
**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	16. Chapter 16

**I had fun writing this ;) enjoy my dear readers.**

* * *

Weiss slowly opened her eyes and saw the familiar sight of the walls of her room. It was dimly lit by some of the setting rays of the outside world, and she saw that the door leading into the room was cracked open marginally. She was slightly disoriented by the sudden change in environment, but then she recalled the events that had just occurred in the Belladonna household. Suddenly, she could feel a pending headache coming on that was long overdue.

After the emotionally-charged incident, Weiss could only remember shamelessly crying for a considerable amount of time. She just figured that she eventually passed out and that Winter probably carried her to her room. She then sighed; the girl knew that the relationship between Winter and her mother was strained, but she thought that they'd at least refrain from arguing with one another on the _first_ _day_ that they've seen each other... in almost over a year.

"That was just wishful thinking, I guess."

Weiss then adjusted herself on her pillow, and furrowed her brows with slight annoyance at how lumpy it was. She raised her left hand and then gave it a good smack to help fluff it up.

"Oof!-"

The former heiress' eyes widened marginally in shock as she could not recall her pillow ever having the ability to make noises or talk. Believing that it was just a part of her imagination, she then opted to burrow herself deeper into her pillow and then took in a deep breath. To her mild, but somewhat pleasant surprise, she noted that it smelled of roses. Her said pillow then began to giggle, and then Weiss became very much aware that her pillow was in fact _not_ a pillow. She also became aware of the fact that she was essentially sprawled on top of the person that she thought was her pillow; with her left leg latching onto their left thigh and her arm comfortably placed on the persons stomach.

She immediately turned her head to face the person she was embracing at the moment, and could feel a familiar warmth beginning to make it's way to her cheeks. However, before the girl could jump away from the girl in her personal space, that very girl tightened their grip on her. Weiss then froze in her embrace.

"Weiss, relax. It's just me, Ruby. You're probably still tired, so just stay like this for a little while longer."

The former heiress was surprised at how _gentle_ the hyperactive girl's voice was. After briefly pondering her situation, Weiss concluded that Ruby made a really good point about her being tired. She felt that she could barely keep her swollen eyes open. She then relaxed into the girl's arms, and closed her eyes. Upon complying with her small plea, Ruby sighed with satisfaction and for a couple of minutes the girls simply lied on Weiss' bed. The white-haired girl actively prevented herself from crying again, and held onto the redhead tighter. Somehow, Ruby seemed to have sensed the change in Weiss' demeanour and she began to rub small, comforting circles on the former heiress' back.

However, this small action caused the white-haired girl to feel safe enough to show some vulnerability to the redhead; and she let a couple of more tears fall. Weiss then resolved to let herself vent to the girl in her embrace.

"I just hate how _broken_ my family is."

"Weiss, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want-"

The former heiress exhaled sharply, "Ruby, please. I need to talk about it. I've been holding in these thoughts for so long, and I don't think that I'll let myself think about it again."

Ruby then let out a shaky sigh, "Alright, Weiss. I'm here to listen."

Weiss adjusted herself to a more comfortable position at the younger redhead's side, and burrowed her head into the crook of the girl's neck. After a brief moment of silence, the former heiress finally decided to start her train of thought with a certain incident that happened approximately a year ago.

"You probably know by now about how I've basically been kicked out of the family and lost my inheritance to the SDC, right?" The redhead silently nodded at the Schnee girl's words, "What you probably don't know is how or why it happened."

Ruby remained silent, and Weiss took that as her cue to continue on with her story.

"Well, it all happened because I publicly refused to be betrothed to this boy named Henry Marigold. My father thought an arranged marriage between the SDC and Marigold Industries would secure some newfound terrain the Marigold's had access to. Apparently it was _'extremely rich in the highest quality dust._ '" Weiss went on, "He tried to intimidate me into submission by inviting a number of high-class socialites to the announcement of this betrothal. Both Blake and Coco were there too, but I didn't know them that well at the time."

"Anyways, when he abruptly announced the engagement, I- umm... rather brutishly refused."

Ruby let out a small laugh, "Oh you've got to tell me how. You can't just leave out that detail."

"... I told him to fuck off."

"..."

"No literally, I told him to _fuck off_." Weiss repeated, "I also may have thrown a little bit of a tantrum because I knew that this was also a ploy to prevent me from attending Beacon Academy the upcoming year. I essentially chewed my father out in front of all of his closest business associates, and made a complete fool out of him. He then threatened me with taking away my chance to owning the SDC, but I did him one better and publicly denounced my own rights to the Schnee name. To say that our guests were shocked was an understatement... many of them seemed downright appalled."

"My father then tried to point out the fact that I had nowhere to go; but that's where Kali comes in. Out of nowhere, the woman stands up and lets everyone know that I was welcome to live with her and Blake," Weiss smiled, "you should've seen the look of unadulterated shock on Blake's face at the time. She really wasn't expecting her mother to do what she did, and honestly neither did I. But I will forever be grateful for her hospitality - I honestly don't think that Blake would even be my friend, let alone one of my best friends, if she didn't offer to take me in."

"Wait," Ruby interrupted, "I'm sorry, but where was your mother and sister during all of this?"

"Winter was travelling to the Valerian Military Base Camp to get ready to be deployed at the time. I don't think she knew about the disinheritance until a couple of weeks after it happened. My mother, on the other hand..." the former heiress sighed, "she was probably finding an obscure sense of comfort at the bottom of a wine bottle."

Weiss then felt Ruby wince, "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry-!"

"Don't be, Ruby. My mother had a drinking problem for a very long time. It's not your fault that she doesn't know how to properly cope with her problems." Weiss reassured her, "Although, it does seem like she's trying to quit which I guess is a good thing. I'm pretty sure my sister made her promise that she would quit while she was gone. I honestly don't know if she's been staying true to the pact though..."

"But, um yeah, that's how my disinheritance went," the white-haired girl finished, "oh and don't worry, my family had been fucked up, and emotionally-detached way before the incident occurred; it's just we've started to be more open about it when I finally left."

The redhead remained silent; and Weiss had a feeling it was because she knew that she wasn't done venting to her yet. The former heiress exhaled sharply once more, and decided to continue on with her venting.

"For as long as I could remember, the relationship between my mother and Winter had always been... well, _bad_." Weiss continued, "Although Winter hates it, she knows that she takes after our father in the sense that she knows what she wants, and that she'll do what ever she can to attain it. The only difference between the two is the fact that Winter isn't deplorable or underhanded in any kind of way. Since she has a headstrong personality, she can't stand seeing my mother just idly watch her own life go by without so much as standing up for herself. They've gotten in countless fights over the way that my mother lives her life; just listlessly existing and never being happy."

"In fact, I think the only time I've ever seen my mother smile was when she officially reunited with your moms and Kali..."

Weiss then pondered on the fact. She wasn't a total idiot; she saw the way that her mother would look at the Belladonna Matron. She had never seen the woman look at Jacques like that, and she knew for a fact that there was something more there. Suddenly, she decided to make a mental note of confronting her mother, or even Kali about it. If there was any chance that her mother could be happy, then she was going to make sure that it happened.

Much like Winter, Weiss was sick of seeing her mother in such a pathetic state.

"Well, from what Ma and Mom told me, they used to be the best of friends!" Ruby suddenly exclaimed, "It's actually crazy how they've reunited again; and that we're kind of friends now too! like, who would've thunk? Amiright?"

Weiss giggled at that, "It is quite strange, but in a good way. Ruby, I'm glad I met you."

When the former heiress was met with silence, the impact of her words sank in and she abruptly ripped herself out of the younger girl's embrace. She then turned herself around, with her back against Ruby to try and hide her forming flush. Before Weiss could continue on to backtrack her words, the sudden sensation of the redhead's arms slowly making their way around her waist prevented her from saying anything else.

"I'm glad I met you too, Weiss." She then felt the younger girl had pulled her closer, and she automatically relaxed into Ruby's embrace once again.

"I honestly can't reassure you that your situation is ever going to be okay; but Weiss, I want to let you know that I'm always going to be here to make sure that _you're_ going to be okay," Ruby went on, "if you're ever feeling down, please don't hesitate to call on me. I'd much rather see you snort like a cute little Weiss-pig than cry oomf-!" Weiss elbowed the younger girl in the stomach at the pig comment.

Ruby laughed and held the white-haired girl even tighter, "What?! It's freaking cute when you snort!"

"I don't think being compared to a pig is cute, Ruby."

Ruby scoffed, "Oh right, I forgot that a girl like you deserves a nickname fitting to her stature. Isn't that right, _princess_."

The former heiress immediately shifted herself around on her bed to face the hyperactive redhead, "It's _Ice_ Princess."

The younger redhead gave Weiss a confused look, "Ice?"

"Because I'm frigid? heartless? cold?"

The former heiress noted the look of contemplation that appeared on the younger girl's face upon answering her question about her notorious nickname. She began to fidget inwardly at the prolonged scrutiny that she received from the redhead. However, she then jolted in surprise when Ruby began to _tickle_ her sides, and she cursed her hips for being so sensitive to touch.

"Frigid?" Ruby questioned,

"Wha-!? Ahahaha-! R-Ruby, s-stop it!"

The redhead grinned, "you seem pretty responsive to me..."

"What are you going on abou-? Ah-!" Weiss then felt it as Ruby made her way towards her chest, and then blushed immediately when the girl pressed the side of her face against it, "I hear a heartbeat. So the whole 'heartless' thing is a lie."

Suddenly, the former heiress' breath hitched when Ruby slowly made it to her eye level. Weiss then watched with wide eyes as the redhead proceeded to place her forehead against her own. The hyperactive redhead beamed a smile at her.

"and you're _warm,_ Weiss."

Instead of reacting bashfully to Ruby's actions, the former heiress simply stared back at her in awe.

Weiss wasn't going to lie about the fact that she had initially found the redhead's kindness as suspicious. The former heiress was used to people befriending her because of her association with the Schnee name. In the past, people only wanted to get close to her to get something out of it; whether it was business connections, an increase in social status, or to have access to her riches. This caused her to be more guarded and selective about the friends that she made. So when Ruby came around and started to throw her off with her genuine _niceness,_ Weiss truly didn't know what to do. At first, she thought Ruby wanted something from her.

However, that notion had been thrown out the window in that moment. She could _feel_ that the girl cared for her well-being as she lied there in the girl's arms. Honestly, who else would have taken the time to actually stay with Weiss as she literally broke down? No person with ulterior motives would have done so, but Ruby... she did. She waited patiently as the former heiress took her time in crying her feelings out; and she stayed with her after. There was also something about the redhead that made Weiss feel like it was okay to show her vulnerable side.

She then inwardly concluded that it's okay to be Ruby's friend...

 _Friend..._?

Weiss slowly began to smile at the younger girl, and playfully punched her stomach, "Dolt."

" _Your_ Dolt," Ruby giggled.

Weiss, however, slowly began to blush at the insinuation of the redhead's statement. Ruby seemed to have caught on to what she said, and her eyes widened in realization. The girl then pulled back slightly from the former heiress and tried to explain herself,

"I mean-! your Dolty, friend-dolt! uh- Dolt-thing, friend-... D-Dolt F-friend...?" Weiss quirked an eyebrow at the struggling redhead.

Then, her heart almost melted at the bashful, lopsided grin that she was receiving from the girl.

Weiss laughed, "Yes, Ruby. You're my Dolt Friend."

The former heiress watched as Ruby's grin turned into a full-blown smile. She then was taken aback when Ruby proceeded to basically glomp her while they were both still on the bed. Weiss cried out in surprise, but then her voice got caught in her throat when she realized the position they were both in. Once again, Ruby was on top of her; but this time around, the younger girl was straddling her waist and the former heiress' face was trapped between the girl's hands which were against the pillow that she was lying on.

Oblivious to the sudden change in their position, Ruby simply leaned in and continued to smile at the white-haired girl.

"Yup, that's me. Your friendly neighbourhood Dolt...Friend..." Ruby trailed off. The former heiress then noticed the way in which the younger girl's gaze had softened; and she could also feel that her own vision had begun to gloss over too.

Weiss then made the lethal mistake of staring at the younger girl's lips.

Those perfect, pink, soft, _kissable_ lips.

Suddenly, she felt the younger girl gently place a hand on her right cheek. The former heiress then followed suit with Ruby's actions as the younger girl guided her towards her face. Ruby continued to lean in closer, and Weiss could feel that her eyes had begun to close in submission. With half-lidded eyes, the former heiress noted the mere inches between their lips. On impulse, she then inwardly decided that they were both a couple of inches too far from each other, and she began to prop herself up towards the younger redhead.

"R-Ruby..."

 _BANG!_

"Rise and shine, sleeping little sisters- Oh my GOD!"

The sound of the door at the far side of Weiss' room being kicked open effectively caused Weiss to shove Ruby off the bed. Well, not before their intruders (aka, Yang and Winter) had caught them in their compromising position. She also noted that in doing so, she may have also pushed a number of pillows off of the bed too. The former heiress then instinctively grabbed the pillow from under her head to cover her chest; which she then realized made absolutely no sense at all since she was still fully clothed. When she heard Ruby groan on the floor below her, she tentatively looked over from the side of her bed to see if she was okay.

The redhead simply propped herself up and rubbed the back of her head, "O-ow..." Weiss then jumped a little when Ruby wildly flailed her arms in the air, "Yang!? What the HELL?!"

Yang simply gave her younger sister a teasing smirk, "Why so frustrated, Rubes?"

"Because you interrupted me at a super pivotal moment..!? Like, I was _so close_ to-!"

"So close to _what_ exactly, Ruby?" Winter suddenly interrupted,

Ruby backtracked and began to sputter an incomprehensible excuse to the older Schnee girl, "Heh-! W-well, I- ugh, uh... ummm..."

"Let me spell it out for you, fellow older sister," Yang began, "Ruby and Weissy sitting in a tree..." Weiss then exasperatedly watched as the blonde began to skip down the hallway, "K-I-S-S-I-N-!"

Ruby growled, "YANG!"

The redhead then scrambled to get onto her feet, and bolted out the white-haired girl's room. Both of the Schnee sisters then listened with silent mirth and irritation (with Weiss being the more irritated one of the two) at the antics of the other two sisters. Although Yang and Ruby probably made their way back towards the living room downstairs, both the Schnee's could still hear them loud and clear.

"Oh, hey Mom! You wouldn't _believe_ what I just saw your _sweet little daughter_ do!"

"Y-Yang, shut-!"

"There I was, _quietly_ opening the door to see if the girls were awake..." Weiss rolled her eyes at the obvious lie, but continued to listen on from her room with Winter, "then BAM! I was hit with the rather _obscene_ picture of Ruby straddling Weiss' waist and getting bizaaay wit- OUCH!"

"I-I told you to shut up!"

"That fucking _hurt_ , Ruby!"

Weiss then heard Ruby 'hmmph!' indignantly, "Well that's what you get when you-AGH! SHIT, Yang. What the hell?! You hit hard, dammit!"

"Girls..." Summer warned,

"Knock it off!" Raven joined in.

Their mothers' warnings were then met with complete silence; and Weiss sighed in relief at how the situation didn't escalate needlessly. However, her thoughts were then interrupted when she heard her own sister clear her throat. She then slowly turned her head to face Winter, and saw that the older girl was leaning against the doorframe while giving her an utterly amused look. Weiss began to open her mouth to try and explain the situation, but the older Schnee girl beat her to it.

"Weiss, we can talk about _that_ later," Winter began, "Come with me. We need to have a discussion with our mother; and it's long overdue."

The former heiress sighed. Mostly because Winter was right; they needed to sort things out with their mother.

And by that she meant that they needed to knock some sense into her.

"Alright," Weiss said as she got up from her bed, "Let's go."

* * *

 **Bwahahahahahaha I'm such a tease.**

 **LOL so there wasn't much of a flashback pertaining to Weiss' disinheritance, but she pretty much verbally explained it xD I hope the WhiteRose relationship is developing well enough for y'all xP and... if you were wondering if I was going to drag out the relationships in this story welll... yeah I might be ;P bahahaha or not. Whooo knowwws?**

 **Also, thank you all so much for leaving reviews and critiques on the fic! Seriously, I can't thank y'all enough! I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking everything that you guys into consideration whole-heartedly... and that I love you :P**

 **ahahaaa**

 **Until next time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Omg school starts in a week, and I can't y'all... I ain't readyyy!**

 **Buut.. you know what _is_ ready? This chapter that I wrote for you beautiful people to enjoy.**

* * *

Blake watched with curiosity as her mother continued to stare at her bedroom door at the end of the hallway. The two Faunus women were currently waiting patiently in Blake's room; with the Cat-Faunus girl herself lounging on her own bed, whereas Kali opted to lean at the doorframe while pacing every once in a while around the bedroom. They went into the Faunus girl's room after Yang childishly skipped down the hallway and blabbed about Ruby's _almost_ conquest of Weiss' lips. Shortly after, Winter then got the former heiress to go talk to their mother. To the Cat-Faunus' diminishing surprise, Kali jumped at the opportunity at helping the Schnee girl's on dealing with the Schnee Matron herself.

Kali crossed her arms and sighed.

"Mom, I'm pretty sure they'll be just fine," Blake tried to point out while she plopped onto her back in the bed.

"mmhm.."

The Faunus girl playfully smiled, "Well, I can't guarantee that your room will be fine. Winter seemed ready to throw a couple of punches..."

"That's nice..."

Blake tilted her head in confusion at her mother's response, and rolled over to her stomach to stare at the Faunus woman. She noted that her mother's eyes were still effectively glued onto the door that led to her own room. She couldn't exactly see Kali's facial expression but judging by the way the Faunus woman's ears were flattened, she could tell that she was anxious about what was going on in her bedroom.

 _Is she even listening to-?_

Oh Blake _had_ to test this.

"So I'm thinking about joining the White Fang, mom."

"Ahuh..."

Blake almost laughed, "Ahem! Uh, yeah. I totally think peaceful protests and non-violent activism are useless. Also, I hate humans with a passion."

"Right..."

The Cat-Faunus was somewhat dumbfounded. Kali vehemently _hated_ what the White Fang was; seriously, anytime the topic would come up the woman would go _off_ at the slightest mention of something _positive_ being said about the group. So, for her mother to be brushing her _own daughter's_ (fake) interest in the terror group meant that the Faunus woman's mind was absolutely occupied by something... or _someone_ else.

Blake smiled and decided to test her mother even more.

"Sooo... I'm not a virgin anymore."

"That's nice sweetie..."

The Cat-Faunus let out a giggle, and then cleared her throat, "Yup. Yang and I hooked up at the library earlier today in the history section."

"Wow that's... _what_."

Blake then observed as her mother slowly turned her head, and gave her a menacing look. However, before the Faunus woman could open her mouth, Blake began to laugh at her reaction. Upon doing so, the woman's expression transformed into one of incredulousness and confusion. Blake then propped herself up on her elbows, leaned her head into her right hand, and smiled at her mother.

"You seem to care a lot about the Schnee's there,"

Kali huffed and turned her head to the side, "Of course I do, Weiss is basically a part of our family now."

" _Right_ ," Blake rolled her eyes as she lied back down on her back, "It's _Weiss_ who you're primarily worried about; and _not_ the Schnee that you've been constantly staring lovingly at for the past couple of hours..."

At the small accusation, Kali's eyes widened marginally and she began to fidget while staring at everything but her daughter in the room. Blake wasn't stupid, and she was pretty sure that Weiss was getting a similar idea too. She saw the way that Kali would look at Viktoria; it was the same way that she would stare at her father. There was something there, and Blake was somewhat determined to find out. If there was a chance for her mother to be happy with someone that she loved again, then the Faunus girl wanted to make it happen. And like her mother said: Weiss was basically a part of their family now.

So why not help make it _official_?

"Mom. I'm not mad about it. If anything, I'm actually kind of glad that you're acting all 'smitten and in love' again,"

Kali gasped, "I _am not_ acting 'all smitten and in love!'"

"So what category of _feeling_ does 'secretly' holding hands underneath a small coffee table fall into?"

Her mother began to sputter an incoherent excuse, but then her babble trailed off into silence. Blake simply smiled and then patted the spot next to her on the bed, "You don't have to explain _everything_ to me; but mom, I want you to know that I'm always here to listen, and that there's no way I would ever judge you for your past."

To Blake's pleasant surprise, the prompt that she made seemed to have given her mother the courage to feel comfortable enough to talk to her about whatever was going on with Viktoria. She watched as Kali made her way towards her bed, and much like Blake, her mother made herself completely comfortable and sprawled her body over the other half of it. The Faunus woman opted to lie on her stomach, while propping herself up with her elbows; Blake, on the other hand, was comfortably lying on her back and waiting patiently for her mother to start talking.

The Faunus girl then observed Kali as she began to display a far-away expression on her face,

"Before Ghira, there was someone else whom I loved. I'll tell you about her now, but before I do I want you to know that your father will always hold a place in my heart, Blake."

Blake smiled, "I know, mom." Kali then returned that smile.

She then watched as her mother sighed,

"So let me tell you a story about how a delinquent Faunus girl fell in love with a spoiled rich brat..."

* * *

"I want you to tell me about Kali."

Weiss wasn't kidding when she said that she wanted to know about her mother's past relationship with the Belladonna woman. She knew for a fact that Kali had a significant role in her mother's life; especially with regards to making the stubborn woman happy. So the white-haired girl was completely determined in digging that part of Viktoria's memories out.

However, with the way that the three white-haired women were being at the moment, Weiss wasn't expecting a deep conversation relaying back to her mother's past any time soon. The three Schnee women were currently residing in different areas within the Belladonna Matron's room. Weiss situated herself on Kali's bed, opting to sit on it rather than lie down; Winter was lounging at the Faunus woman's vanity with her head turned towards their mother in attentiveness; and lastly, the Schnee Matron had made herself somewhat comfortable at the far side of Kali's room by the window sill. The former heiress noted the way in which her mother had her arms crossed in defiance.

Weiss then watched as Viktoria gave her an utterly unamused expression in response to her question. She then offered her mother an unamused expression of her own when she could _feel_ that the woman was going to be difficult about answering her. Actually, the woman was being extremely difficult in being cooperative with the _both_ of her daughters for the past couple of minutes. So she didn't know what she expected when she started to inquire about the Schnee woman's past relationships. Winter simply wanted to know about her current living conditions before she began to look for a place of her own. She also may have inquired about how their father was treating the Schnee Matron, but the woman would gloss over the subject and became rather irritated.

Her mother scoffed, "She's the woman who was kind enough to take you into her home after you were kicked out of the family, Weiss."

"She's also the woman that you've been staring affectionately at for the majority of the day, mother," Weiss added with exasperation, "You don't even look at father like that; let alone _smile_ at him."

Weiss then noticed that this particular subject piqued her sister's interest; as the older Schnee began to give their mother an expectant look. Weiss turned her head back to her mother, and saw that the woman displayed an unreadable expression. The former heiress could only tell that the white-haired woman had her jaw set, and that she seemed to be actively preventing herself from even thinking about the topic. The Schnee girl then inwardly scoffed; she could be stubborn and difficult too.

And, just like her mother said:

It's not like Weiss had adopted her attitude from her father.

"Mother, Blake and I aren't stupid. We can tell that both you and Kali had some kind of history together; and I honestly want to know about it," Weiss began, "if you're going to try and convince me otherwise, then don't bother. The actions that you've been displaying all day towards Kali will speak louder than any empty words that you might say to negate the fact that you-"

"that I _what?_ " Viktoria interrupted.

Weiss exasperatedly raised her arms up to the air, "I don't _know_... that you _feel_ something for her?! Mother, _why_ don't you like talking about your past so much?!" There have been countless times when the former heiress would inquire about such things, but Viktoria wouldn't have it. And now that Weiss had somewhat of a glimpse to the white-haired woman's past with Kali, she wasn't going to let the woman gloss over it.

Even if the memories that Viktoria had with the Belladonna Matron were painful.

"I don't feel obligated to tell you about my past, _especially_ my past relationships, because none of it is relevant to the present, Weiss!"

"Now that's just ridiculous _,_ mother! Everything a person does in the past builds up to where they end up in the present! What you've just said is absolutely stupid!" the former heiress exclaimed.

Weiss then observed as something seemed to _snap_ in her mother. The Schnee woman stiffened up, and clenched her fists. She continued to turn her back on her daughters, and Weiss could tell that they were in for a storm. The former heiress then winced, and braced herself for a verbal lashing. But when Viktoria began to speak, she was almost shocked at how _calm_ she initially sounded.

"No, Weiss," the Schnee woman began, "what's _stupid_ is the fact that you want me to tell you about a dead-end relationship that I had with a woman that I loved..."

Weiss whipped her head to face her sister, who was currently giving their mother a look of sympathy. She then jolted in surprise when her mother continued to answer the her inquiry.

"If you want me to tell you how we met, I'll fucking _tell_ you that too!" Viktoria angrily went on, "It all started when our _stupid_ professor Lionheart decided that it would be a _splendid_ idea to pair the Academy's honour student with an absolutely _annoying_ delinquent; for a project that was worth 50 percent of my final grade!"

The former heiress quirked an eyebrow at the last part of her mother's exclamation. But nevertheless was somewhat satisfied that the woman was being open about her past.

Regardless if the woman seemed to be telling them about herself out of spite.

"We got a fucking _100%_ on that project, by the way. But that's only because I _forced_ that idiot to work on it with me in the library; which was the very library where she basically _robbed_ me of my first kiss!" her mother paused and let out a humourless laugh, "S-she called me over to one of the bookshelves to help her get a book that she claimed she couldn't reach, and I foolishly went to help her; even though we both knew that she was taller than me."

Weiss then watched as her mother turned her head to the side; and she felt something tug at her heart when she saw that the woman had let some hot tears fall freely from her eyes. Suddenly, as a ghost of a smile made it's way onto Viktoria's face.

"She trapped me against the history section of the library and just... _kissed_ me," Viktoria trailed off. She then stood there at the window in silence.

The former heiress took in a deep breath, and then let it out. She had a feeling that the history between Kali and her mother would be messy, but she didn't know that it had affected the woman this deeply.

Honestly, this was the first time she had ever seen her mother cry.

And she didn't like it at all.

"M-mom... you don't need to go on, I'm sor-"

"No," Viktoria interrupted, "I've tried to ignore these memories for _so long_ , but talking about them right now reminds me how _real_ they were."

The white-haired girl's mother then relaxed at the window sill, and she turned to face her and Winter. The Schnee Matron sighed with resignation,

"Winter, Weiss... I've been in love with Kali since the day I met her."

The Schnee sisters sat there in shocked silence. Weiss wasn't exactly expecting for her mother to outright confess her love for the Belladonna Matron to them; but... _wow_. Weiss then observed as Winter opened her mouth to ask their mother a question, but then Viktoria raised her hand to interrupt her.

"Winter, just let me tell you both about this first; but before I continue I want the both of you to know that I do not regret, _for one second_ , ever having the both of you," their mother clarified, "I only regret the fact that you two had to grow up in that harsh environment we had to call 'home,' and that I couldn't be strong enough for you girls to be sober while you had to endure _so_ much of your father's tyranny."

Winter simply slowly nodded at their mother; whereas Weiss continued to sit on the Belladonna Matron's bed and listened to the Schnee woman earnestly.

"Well, since I've basically told you two how we met, I'll continue from there," their mother began, "after she umm.. kissed me, she introduced me to a couple of her friends; two of which happened to be Summer and Raven. Anyways, I began to spend a lot of time with them and we became somewhat of a tight-knit group. At the time, Kali and I didn't make anything official, but that was only because that _idiot_ kept on sending me mixed signals and was a horrible flirt... so for a couple of weeks I was confused out of my _mind_ , trying to figure that fool out..." Weiss and Winter giggled at the last part that her mother had mumbled, but nevertheless prompted her to continue with small smiles.

The Schnee woman then let out a small laugh herself, "It got to the point where I got so frustrated that I actually confronted her in front of _everybody_ at the cafeteria," she then smiled, "she matched me with my dramatics and answered me by kissing me in front of everyone, too."

"What happened after that?" Winter suddenly questioned,

"We fell deeper in love," their mother answered, "as the years went by we kept on seeing each other; we were basically attached by the hip. We began to make plans for the future. We planned out where we wanted to travel, where we wanted to settle down, and when we wanted to build a family..."

"Hell, she even introduced me to her parents. And they were lovely; they accepted me immediately and made me feel like I was already a part of their family. It gave me the courage to introduce her to Nicholas, your grandfather. We didn't formally say that she was my girlfriend at the time, but I'm positive that he knew about our relationship, and it seemed that he was extremely fond of her..." the Schnee Matron trailed off, "which is why it doesn't make _any_ sense at all that he made me choose between Kali and the SDC..."

Weiss became suspicious by the last part that her mother had said. She had never met their grandfather before, but that was only because he became sick before she could even meet the man; and was currently residing at a special care facility. The former heiress had heard rumours of her grandfather's kindness, but she thought it all was a farce; especially considering the fact that he never even tried to contact his granddaughters, let alone his own daughter.

"When our senior year at Beacon came around, your grandfather became sick. It got to the point where we weren't sure that he could go on as the head of the Schnee Dust Company," Viktoria went on, "So he started to teach and train me about the ins and outs of the SDC. I thought it was implied that I was going to take over the company after I graduated, and Kali was actually thrilled about it. So I wasn't worried about anything at the time but then..."

"But then what?" Weiss asked,

"T-then he introduced me to a number of business associates; one of which was Jacques. I thought nothing of it, but then Jacques pulled me to the side and told me that the purpose of me meeting all those associates was to find me a suitor," her mother replied, "I-I was so consumed by anger and betrayal that I didn't even try to talk to my father about it. I just blindly began to resent him, and from then on our relationship became somewhat sour. But, before I could even graduate your grandfather's health got worse, and we had to admit him to a special facility. That was the last time I've ever spoken to him."

"I know he's still alive now, but I still can't bring myself to contact him. Not after he made me choose the SDC over Kali," Viktoria became bitter, "he had his jockey Jacques do it; and he didn't give me much leeway to choose. He also publicly announced that my father decided that he was to be my fiance.."

"Wait," Winter interrupted, "I'm sorry mother, but _why_ did you choose the company - no _Jacques_ , over Kali?"

Viktoria became quiet; and for a moment, everything seemed to stand still. Their mother then exhaled sharply, "your father threatened me with Kali and her family."

This sudden revelation made Weiss shake with anger.

" _How,_ " The white-haired girl inquired.

"Kali's family wasn't exactly the richest, and they were in debt; literally _swimming_ in it. I did whatever I could to help them out, but Kali was too stubborn and prideful for that," Viktoria began to answer, "Your father, he originally came from a family that owned a lending business - they were essentially loan sharks. He found out that the Belladonna's actually owed them a considerable amount of money, and he threatened me by saying he would make them do hard labour for the SDC if I didn't formally choose the company over being with her. It all happened so fast that I hastily chose to protect Kali and her family by choosing the SDC over her."

"She didn't take it well," Viktoria went on, "w-we got into this huge fight a-and..."

Weiss didn't like where the story was going, "and?"

Her mother sighed, "she just... left."

The former heiress then watched as the woman began to shake, "S-She just up and _went away,"_

 _"_ I was so fucking angry and confused about everything that was happening!" their mother's voice slowly began to rise, "I-I didn't know who I resented the most at the time! Fuck, I resented Kali _so much_ for just leaving me. _God,_ even now when I'm with her I get bitter about the whole ordeal! I also resented Jacques _immensely_ for getting in the way of _everything_ that made me remotely happy; and I resented my father for just _letting_ this all happen!" Weiss winced, as their mother was now screaming out her frustration.

And she was sure that everybody in the house could hear her.

She then frowned as she noted the tears that fell from her mother's face.

"S-so I drank..." their mother continued in a small voice, "I drank, and I drank until I didn't even know my name anymore. Both Summer and Raven were with me while I basically annihilated my liver; and it was _horrible_. I said a lot of things that I didn't mean to them, but at that moment I just didn't _care_. I drank to the point where I'm positive that Raven had to knock me out by literally punching me in the face. All I remember about it was waking up with a pounding headache, and a nasty bruise on my right cheek."

She then paused, and then stared right back at Weiss.

"I didn't see Kali for another _thirteen_ years after she left. The next time I saw her, she was with her daughter; Blake. But her husband Ghira had tragically passed away in that horrible terrorization of the Mistrali Faunus Movement..." Viktoria continued, "She moved back into Vale and was enrolling Blake into the same middle school as you, Weiss. I tried to reach out to her, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Then as the years went on, Kali continued to respectfully climb her way up the social ladder and made a name for herself. She would attend certain social events that our family would also go to, but that was around the time when my drinking problem intensified; which was why I rarely even showed up to those events. I never actually saw her in person until...well, the Beacon Family Welcome Ball. But I was only able to go to that event because your sister made me promise to sober up..."

Weiss then watched as Viktoria took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"So that's the story of how a spoiled rich brat fell in love with an _idiot_ delinquent Faunus."

For a small moment, the Schnee sisters sat there in silence. But suddenly, the white-haired girl's vision went a little blurry. She quirked an eyebrow at this, and began to wipe her eyes. She then surprisingly noted that she was _crying._

"W-what..?" she wiped at her tears some more. The former heiress then jumped slightly when her mother suddenly appeared next to her on the bed. She felt her mother's arm wrap around her shoulders, and she instinctively leaned into the white-haired woman.

"I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that," Weiss began, "I-I had no idea.."

"That's only because I never told you, Weiss. I should be the one apologizing for not being present in your lives..." Weiss felt a couple of wet tears fall against her shoulder, "God, I screwed up so much. But not anymore."

Their mother then grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a determined look, "I _promise_ to be here for you, the both of you, from now on. I've missed out on too much of your girls' lives and I need to make it up to you two."

The former heiress beamed a smile at her mother, and then was crying for a whole different reason.

"Alright."

Suddenly, Weiss yelped when she felt a finger jab her left side. She shifted to stare at her assailant; who was currently giving the two Schnee women an exasperated smile.

"I didn't know that I had such _crybabies_ for a mother and sister..."

Weiss playfully elbowed her older sister,

"Shut up, Winter."

* * *

"Shut up, Yang!"

Summer watched with silent mirth as her eldest daughter poked fun yet again at her younger one. She then watched as Yang placed her sister in a playful chokehold; to which Ruby began to struggle futility against. Suddenly, her raven-haired wife decided to cut in,

"Yang, cut it out..." Raven warned. The older redhead smiled when her yellow-haired daughter complied by raising her hands up in defeat. The small woman then stared up to one of the windows of the Faunus woman's home in concern.

The Rose-Branwen family were currently residing in the Belladonna woman's backyard. They made their way there when they could sense that the tension in the house was rising. It also seemed like both the Belladonna's and the Schnee's had some things to work out on their own. However, instead of letting them leave, Kali let the family relax in her backyard until they deemed it fit to go home. To be honest, they would have left a while ago but their daughters seemed worried about their respective partners.

Especially Ruby.

Summer then felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around her waist, and she automatically leaned back.

"You don't need to worry about them, Sum. They'll figure things out on their own, they're somewhat functioning adults now."

Summer simply rolled her eyes at her wife, but nevertheless turned her face to kiss her on the cheek, "You're right,"

"Blegh! Ewww... Ma, Mom enough of the PDA; we're kind of _right here_ ," Yang abruptly complained while she dramatically covered her eyes. Raven just gave her daughter an exasperated smile whereas Summer let out a small laugh.

"Well I, for one, think that it's absolutely adorable," Ruby cut in, "It's great that they're still all 'lovey dovey.' _That's_ when you know that it's real!"

Yang playfully rolled her eyes, and then gave Ruby a teasing smirk, "So does that mean you being all 'lovey dovey' with Weiss all the time make your _looove_ for her real?"

Summer then watched with amusement as her younger daughter immediately lit up at the teasing question. The young redhead huffed, "I don't ' _looove_ ' Weiss! I-I'm just super fond of her; she's a great person!"

"More like you _fondle_ her..." Yang teased again, "is she as great a person as she is in bed? I mean you already _were_ in bed with her, _shamelessly_ straddling her waist and ravishing her bod-oomf!" Summer's eyes widened in shock as Ruby straight up _tackled_ her sister. The two were then engaged in a somewhat playful brawl. Regardless of the seriousness of their daughters playfight, the two mothers simply sighed in exasperation and readied themselves to get them to stop.

"Break it up!" Raven barked, "If you two won't stop then we're going to leave!"

Surprisingly, this statement seemed to do the trick as the two girls begrudgingly stopped their little fight. Summer then tilted her head in curiosity. She understood why Ruby wanted to stay so badly. The kid was fooling _nobody_ when she said that it wasn't ' _just because of Weiss!'_ ; but as for Yang...

"Yang, sweetie. Why do _you_ want to stay so badly?"

At Summer's (not so) innocent question, Yang began to fidget slightly but then she tried to play it off nonchalantly, "No reason! Just worried about my good friend Weiss."

"I think you pronounced Blake's name wrong, kid," Raven suddenly interjected. The redhead woman then observed as her blonde daughter gave the dark-haired woman an incredulous look, "W-what?!"

Raven then gave her daughter an unamused look, "You know... the Cat-Faunus girl you've been _trying_ to flirt with all day?"

"She's also the girl that threw your prosthetic across the field when you tried that 'hilarious' visual pun?" Summer added; she noted that her wife laughed at the mentioning of Yang's ridiculous joke.

"Jeez kid," Raven began as she wiped a tear from her eye, "what the hell were you thinking when you did that? Like, you get an A+ for the joke, but I don't Blake's the type of person... you know?"

Yang crossed her arms and huffed, "Well... I know that _now._ "

Summer simply went over to her daughter and ruffled the top her head. "Don't worry about it, Yang. If she's anything like her mother, then she might just be overthinking your advances; Hell, I remember Kali would idiotically overthink about her situation with Vi and she didn't make a move until she was basically confronted by her... Well, she was also a nasty flirt and would hit on _everybody_..."

Both of her daughters giggled at the last part that Summer mumbled.

"Is Blake as bad a flirt as her mom?" the redhead woman asked.

Yang shrugged, "I don't know... I've never seen her talk to anybody outside of her group of three with Weiss and Coco..."

"Huh..." Raven mused, "maybe she's nothing like Kali then... the woman was super sociable back in the day."

Summer then playfully patted her daughter's shoulder, "Well, looks like she's totally ignoring your advances then Yang."

"Mooom, aren't you supposed to be encouraging me?!"

Before Summer could playfully respond to Yang's whining, the sudden raised voice of a certain Schnee Matron interrupted her. The four women outside stood there in silence, and listened to the abrupt screaming.

 _"I was so fucking angry and confused about everything that was_ happening!" Viktoria's muffled voice came through, " _I-I didn't know who I resented the most at the time! Fuck, I resented Kali so much for just leaving me... I also resented Jacques immensely for getting in the way of everything that made me remotely happy; and I resented my father for just letting this all happen!"_

Then there was silence. Summer simply stood there, shocked; she had a feeling that Vi was telling her daughters about her history with the Belladonna woman. So the outburst of roughly seventeen years worth of pent up emotions was expected.

"If we could hear that from out here, then Kali can definitely hear that from across the hall..." Raven pointed out.

Summer cursed under her breath, "Crap... I know."

"Do you think that they're going to be okay?" Ruby's feeble voice chimed in.

Summer gave her child a reassuring smile,

"Yeah, they're going to be okay."

And like her wife said:

Those two idiots are somewhat functioning adults now.

They'll figure it out.

* * *

 **Are you guys ready to go back to school? I'm not xD**

 **LOL yeah this was just a development kind of chapter; hope you guys enjoyed it :P Dw, the regular shenanigans will ensue once again in the next couple of chapters :P Good luck to those who are going back to school/work or whatever!**

 **Until next time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Well hellooooo my cute readers! I hope you guys are having a good first week back at school! It honestly really wasn't that bad for me... I was just being dramatic xD Anyways... here's chapter 18 for y'all!**

* * *

Coco eyed everyone suspiciously as she continued to shove yet another book into the shelf that Ruby screwed up. The group of six were currently spending their Sunday afternoon organizing the rest of the history section that both Ruby and Weiss didn't finish the other day. Apparently, they spent more time engaging in 'not flirtatious' banter, rather than actually organizing the bookshelves because they had the most left to do. However as they were completing this daunting task, Coco took notice that they were all being really quiet... like, mind-numbingly quiet for the past hour.

And it was driving the fashionista crazy.

But more so because she could feel that something was going on here.

She had no idea _what_ the hell had happened yesterday but judging by the way everyone was acting, Coco knew that _something_ went down. The way in which Weiss would act even more so bashful towards Ruby didn't go over the fashionista's head. Coco also noted with interest the way that the hyperactive redhead seemed to be more careful about what she said to the former heiress.

As for Bumblebee-reminiscent pair: Coco took notice of slight changes with them too; like the way that Yang would be a little less playful with her advances towards the Cat-Faunus. She wasn't outright being obvious about it like her sister, but the flirtatious intent was still visible. The brown-haired girl couldn't exactly get a feel of how Blake was feeling, but she could tell that she was somewhat affected by the blonde by the way she would act flustered by the girl's flirting.

 _Oh, they are definitely telling me what happened yesterday._

Coco suddenly jumped when she felt a finger poke at her side; she then turned to give her assailant a questioning look.

"Something the matter, Velve- uh, I mean, Velv?"

Shit. The brown-haired girl was still getting accustomed to calling the Faunus girl by her nickname. She then quickly chanced a glance at the other girls to see if they were listening to them. To the fashionista's surprise, it seemed like everyone else was distracted at the moment. So she wasn't too worried about everyone listening in on the brown-haired duo's conversation.

Velvet leaned in close and whispered into the fashionista's ear, "Is it just me, or is everyone acting really _weird_ at the moment..." Coco had to actively prevent herself from shivering at the sudden sensation of the Rabbit-Faunus' breath lingering at her ear. She then mentally recomposed herself and responded to the Faunus girl.

"Don't worry, Velv. It's _not_ just you," she whispered back, "I have a feeling something happened yesterday and- oh wait, could you scooch over a bit, I need to put this book there," Velvet obliged to Coco's little request and then patiently waited for the fashionista to go on.

"As I was _saying..._ I have a feeling that we missed out on some pretty important developments in our friends relationships yesterday,"

Velvet then looked over her shoulder and nodded in understanding, "Okay, that makes _a lot_ of sense..."

"My money's on the probability that Ruby tried to make a move on our little _Ice Princess,_ "

"What about Blake and Yang?" Velvet questioned with a small smile,

"Well, I'm sensing _small_ changes with them; it's like Yang became a little bit more _serious_ about her advances towards- OW!"

Coco then turned her head and gave her assailant an incredulous look.

 _Did Blake just flick me?!_

"We're _right here_ , you know..." Blake stated as she nonchalantly examined the hand that she just used to assault the fashionista.

The said fashionista then rubbed the part of her head that was flicked, and turned to look over Blake's shoulder. It turns out that the others may have been listening to the brown-haired girls conversation because they either seemed embarrassed, or unamused by the topic of choice. Well, both Yang and Ruby were more so embarrassed, whereas Blake and Weiss seemed a little more irritated.

Coco then shrugged, "Well, since the _cat's_ out of the bag..." She noted that Blake rolled her eyes at the pun, "why don't you four tell us what happened yesterday?"

Velvet nodded, "Yeah, you guys are acting... different."

For a small moment, Blake held an expression of contemplation as she looked over to the other three girls who simply stood there in silence. She then turned to face Velvet and the fashionista and sighed in resignation, "Well, for starters... Ruby tried to make out with Weiss on her bed."

Coco turned her head to face the Red and White-haired duo, who both immediately made sounds of protests at the statement that Blake just made.

"I didn't try to make out with her!"

"She did not make out with me!"

Blake simply smiled in response to the girls reactions, and then continued, "Oh, and it turns out that my mother and Viktoria were madly in love with each other; Winter's back from the military and-"

"Whoa there, hold up a second," Coco interrupted, "What was that about Kali and Weiss' mom?"

"They were in a loving relationship before my father came in and ruined everything," Weiss answered.

In response, Coco slowly nodded in understanding and let out a small 'oh...' However, she then realized that she digressed from her original purpose of questioning the girls. Sure, the revelation of Kali and Viktoria's past may have partially explained why the Monochrome-duo seemed a little dazed; but, that didn't explain why they were acting strange towards the other two or vice versa. She then smirked at the prospect of Ruby trying to make a move on Weiss and decided to inquire more about it.

"So tell me more about this 'passionately making out on Weiss' bed' scandal..." the fashionista's smirk transformed into a smile when she saw that this prompt caused the hyperactive redhead to instantly blush. She then turned to face the former heiress, and was met with an embarrassed but baleful expression.

Weiss' eyebrow twitched, "First of all: there was no _scandal_ , Coco; Second of all: there were no traces of _passion_ within the interaction and-!"

"AND third of all:-!" Ruby interrupted, "there was no making out!" Coco watched as Weiss gave a nod of confirmation to the hyperactive girl's words, but then Ruby continued on, "Yeah, Yang came _bursting_ through the door before any making out could even happen... so, ha!"

To that last part, Coco gave Weiss an entertained smile, and the former heiress simply face-palmed at the bit of information that Ruby somehow thought was appropriate to disclose to the group. The other three girls, on the other hand, were encompassed in a fit of giggles at the redhead's little slip up. When it seemed like the younger girl realized the error of her ways, a blush slowly began to form on her face and she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

"You tell her, sis!" Yang teased,

"Hey you've got some explaining to do too, Yang," Velvet suddenly pointed out. In response, the blonde cursed under her breath but then shrugged nonchalantly, "I'm not too sure what you mean, Velv"

Velvet quirked an eyebrow at the girl, "Umm.. you've _kind of_ been less playful with-"

" _Anyways_ ~," Yang suddenly interrupted, "Erm... Coco!"

The fashionista merely jumped back marginally at suddenly being addressed, "Yes, Yang?"

"H-how was your dinner with your mom yesterday? It must've been fun, righ-mmf!" Coco watched as Blake hastily covered the blonde girl's mouth with her hand; she then turned to the fashionista, and gave her an apologetic look, "You don't need to tell us if you don't want to."

The brown-haired girl smiled thankfully towards Blake, but waved her hand dismissively, "It's _fine_ , Blakey. My mother just used the dinner as a small ruse to suggest that I consider transferring into some special fashion-arts school... not that I'm actually going to do it.."

The last part of Coco's statement caused Velvet to perk up, "You're not talking about the _Remnant Arts Fashion Institute_ , are you?"

"Y-yes I am, why?"

The fashionista began to inch backwards, as the Rabbit-Faunus was slowly leaning towards her with unadulterated awe. She then felt a familiar warmth reach her cheeks while the brown-haired Faunus girl just kept on invading her personal space. Coco didn't really know much about the institute herself, since she never actually displayed any interest in attending it. She knew for a fact that the Adel empire was to be hers, so never felt motivated to further her knowledge about the arts. Although she had extensive knowledge about running such a business, she didn't really care for the creative side of it. She also knew that being fashionably adept was something that came naturally to her. So why should she actually study about it?

She didn't feel like it was _that_ special.

However, Coco could sense that Velvet thought quite the opposite. What with the way that the girl was staring at her like she was some kind of unreal deity.

"No _freaking_ way!" the Faunus girl exclaimed, "I would _kill_ to get into that institute; especially on an early acceptance! Coco, are you sure you aren't interested in going to it? It'd be an awesome opportunity."

Coco merely shrugged in response, "I'm already inheriting the company so I don't really see a point in attending the institute,"

"Ohh... I guess that makes sense..." Velvet trailed off, "Man, if I could study photography at that school, I'd be over the moon!"

"You want to go to Remnant Arts?"

Velvet beamed at the fashionista, "Yeah! Ever since I could pick up a camera I've been dreaming about eventually studying there!"

The fashionista nodded her head in understanding, and an idea popped into her mind. However, before she could vocalize this idea, the sudden alert tone of the girls scrolls had interrupted her train of thought. She then checked the alert and quirked an eyebrow. It was a notification from the student alert app; and apparently they were getting a transfer student. The school usually accepted transfer students later during the year, so this was kind of unheard of.

"We're getting a transfer student tomorrow?" Weiss suddenly questioned.

"It would appear so," the fashionista confirmed. She then felt the sensation of someone's chin resting on her shoulder. To this, she turned her head to see who was using her as a chin rest, and saw that it was Velvet; who was trying to look at the fashionista's scroll. Coco blushed, "umm...?"

"Oh!" Velvet gave her a small, apologetic smile, "I forgot my scroll and wanted to see if there was any info on the transfer student,"

"R-right..." she then watched as Velvet resumed looking at her scroll, "they usually don't leak out the personal info of the students on the app... you know that, right?"

The Rabbit-Faunus simply flushed slightly, and slowly lifted her chin up, "oh..."

"Oh indeed..." a certain former heiress interjected.

Coco briefly gave the girl a glare, and decided to stomp her way to a nearby book cart to shove another book into the shelf. However, once she tried to grab at the content within the cart, she noted that it was completely empty. She then turned her head towards the sound of a dull thud, and saw that Blake had shoved another book into the bookshelf.

"Well... that was our last book, so we're done," the Cat-Faunus stated.

The fashionista simply sighed in relief, "Thank _Oum_ "

Suddenly, the two sisters loudly high-fived and let out small cries of victory. Then there was Weiss who rolled her eyes at the girls antics, but still seemed pretty happy that they were done with the daunting task. The fashionista then turned her attention to a certain Rabbit-Faunus, who currently had her brows furrowed in concentration.

 _How adorable._

"Something the matter there, Velv?"

The Rabbit-Faunus in question snapped out of her reverie and then gave the fashionista a small smile.

"Heh, sorry. I was just trying to remember what my work schedule for this week was. I know I'm working tonight but I forgot my scroll so I can't exactly check."

Coco nodded in understanding, and then an idea popped up in her mind yet again. However, before she could execute this plan of hers she took into consideration of her surroundings; more specifically _who_ she was surrounded by. She decided to not address the Faunus girl until they were relatively alone.

"Welp, lets go!" Ruby suddenly exclaimed, "I just wanna go home and nap."

"Don't we have assigned readings to do?" Weiss pointed out,

"Oh C'mon, Weiss! That's a tomorrow thing to worry about!"

The former heiress gave the redhead an unimpressed look, "Ruby... those readings _are_ due tomorrow."

The hyperactive redhead shrugged happily in response, and Weiss rolled her eyes at her. The candy-cane themed pair made their way out of the library first; with Yang and Blake wordlessly following suit. Before Velvet could follow the black and yellow pair, Coco suddenly grabbed at the girl's arm and held her back. However, the brown-haired girl underestimated the force in which she used to hold the Rabbit-Faunus back and Velvet ended up falling into her arms. She blushed immediately, as she probably made it seem like she wanted to embrace the Faunus girl.

The said Faunus girl looked up at her with questioning eyes, "Ummm?"

"Whoops! Sorry!" Coco pushed her back to arms-length, "I- uh... I just wanted to ask you something."

Velvet continued to stare at the fashionista in silence; and she took that as a prompt to go on. Coco then mustered all the courage that she could and continued to ask the girl the question that she had been meaning to ask her for a while now.

"D-Do you still want to go out to dinner with me?!" the fashionista blurted out. She then mentally berated herself for being so unnecessarily loud, "Uh, I mean... I don't know if you remember but a couple of days ago you may have nonchalantly agreed to dinner with me...?"

Coco then awkwardly laughed, "I-If it was just an 'in the moment, didn't really think about what I was saying-type' thing then you can totally forget abou- mff!"

The fashionista watched with wide eyes as Velvet placed a single finger on top of her lips to shut her up. The Faunus girl smiled at her, "Coco, dinner sounds great. When I check my work schedule, I'll let you know when I'm free."

Coco simply nodded vigorously to Velvet's answer, and tried _really hard_ not to jump up in excitement.

Velvet then made her way out of the library, with Coco following her lead in an elated daze.

"I wonder who the new transfer student is going to be..." the Rabbit Faunus suddenly mused.

Coco shrugged; she didn't care.

She had a date.

* * *

Blake inwardly stared at the individual at the front of the lecture room in utter disbelief. On the outside, she probably seemed like she was observing the new student with indifference. However, on the inside the Cat-Faunus had been screaming ever since she recognized just who the girl was.

"Hello students!" Professor Port suddenly bellowed. He waited until the room went quiet to go on, "Today I would like to introduce our new transfer student. Young lady, would you mind telling us your name, and a little bit about yourself?"

The girl at the front nodded at the professor, and then turned to face the class.

"Hello, my name is Ilia Amitola."

Blake inwardly groaned.

She then saw that the former heiress next to her gave her a weird look, and then noted that she may have groaned out loud. She simply gave Weiss an apologetic smile and mouthed 'don't worry about it' towards her. In response, Weiss quirked an eyebrow at the Cat-Faunus' behaviour but seemed to decide to not press on about it. Their attention was then brought back to the girl at the front of the room when she continued on with her introduction.

"Well... to start off, I pretty much grew up in Menagerie for most of my childhood and-"

" _Wait_..." a deep voice rudely interrupted. Blake turned her head to see who it was, and didn't even try to hide her scowl when she saw that it was Cardin.

"I thought only _Faunus_ lived in Menagerie. Why'd a cute girl like you grow up there?"

Blake rolled her eyes at the distasteful way in which the entitled boy said the word 'Faunus.' He spoke the word as if it were some kind of disgusting, dirty thing. She then saw that Ilia also seemed wildly unimpressed by the boy's attempt at hitting on her. However, despite the boy's obvious racism against the Faunus race, the Cat-Faunus became utterly entertained by the girl's next actions.

She watched, with a small knowing smirk, as the girl began to _change colour_.

Blake heard a number of audible gasps being emitted throughout the lecture room, and saw that Cardin's flirtatious smile transformed into a sneer. She gave her friends a sidelong glance, and noted that they seemed more entertained rather than shocked by the Chameleon-Faunus' actions.

Ilia gave the boy a wicked smirk,

"Yeah. I'm _not_ a human..."

Suddenly, professor Port's boisterous laughter cut through the entire room and effectively made the majority of the students jump. He then patted Ilia's shoulder, "That was quite the introduction, young lady!"

Ilia simply shrugged, and changed her skin colour back to its original, dark brown tone.

"Now... where to sit you... where to sit you..." Port mused as he stroked his moustache. He then began to scan the room, and Blake _prayed_ that he wouldn't sit Ilia near her general vicini-

"Ah! Why don't you sit in the general area in front of Ms. Belladonna over there?"

 _Shit._

The Cat-Faunus observed as Ilia whipped her head towards the direction in which Professor Port pointed. Suddenly, everything went quiet and Blake found herself in an unnecessarily intense staring match with the Chameleon-Faunus across the room. She honestly couldn't tell whether the interaction was hateful or not; as Ilia was displaying a rather unreadable expression. Blake, on the other hand, desperately tried to keep an expression of indifference. However, she could feel that her brows were marginally quirked upward in uncertainty. This didn't go unnoticed by her companions sitting next to her, and heard that a certain fashionista had cleared her throat.

Blake then saw as Ilia seemed to snap out of it, and nodded respectfully towards the professor. She continued to watch as the Chameleon-Faunus made her way towards her; all the while she maintained eye contact. When Ilia finally made it to her seat, Blake was actually surprised at how civil they were both being.

She honestly thought that a full-on brawl was going to break out between the two.

"Blake," the Reptile-Faunus more, or less so, greeted as she turned her back from her.

The Cat-Faunus tried to match the girl with her indifference, and stared blankly at the back of the girl's head, "Ilia."

"and so the plot thickens..." Coco suddenly remarked. In response, Blake swiftly threw an eraser towards the brown-haired girl and successfully hit her face. This, in turn, caused the fashionista to yelp in surprise. However, the Cat-Faunus' attention was abruptly brought back to Ilia who began to laugh a little at the fashionista's words.

Blake then watched as Ilia turned around to face her and smiled, "and here I thought our story was over."

Seeing as the Chameleon-Faunus seemed to be trying to turn a new leaf with her, Blake decided to play along.

The raven-haired girl playfully rolled her eyes, "I'm part of a different book now, Ilia."

"Any chance that it's a sequel?"

Blake blushed at the insinuation that the Chameleon-Faunus made, and wordlessly scoffed at the girl with a small smile.

"What's with this cryptic, book-themed flirting?"

The Cat-Faunus immediately turned her head towards the voice that made the unnecessary remark. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise when she found out that it had been Yang, and she gave the girl an incredulous look.

"W-we aren't flirting!"

Yang seemed to playfully roll her eyes at her protest, "Well, is the sequel she's asking for a sequel to friendship?"

Blake began to sputter an incoherent response to the weirdly vindictive blonde, but suddenly Ilia's laughter had interrupted her.

The Reptile-Faunus wiped an imaginary tear from her eye, "and here I thought that I was just saying mere _words_."

In response, the Cat-Faunus exasperatedly rolled her eyes at her but nevertheless smiled.

"Well, all joking aside, Blake I need to talk to you after class." Blake tilted her head to the side in confusion, but accepted the girl's request anyways, "Um.. sure, Ilia."

Okay, so maybe there was going to be a fight between the two Faunus girls after all.

Then, for the next hour and a half the Cat-Faunus mentally prepared herself for the interaction that she was going to have with the Reptile girl. From what she could remember, her and Ilia didn't exactly end on the best of terms. There was this huge argument between drastically differing opinions on the White-Fang, and things got physical. Blake then inwardly rolled her eyes at herself; okay, and maybe she also was somewhat involved with the Chameleon-Faunus during her younger years... but that barely even counted!

They were pre-pubescent at the time, and were still trying to figure themselves out. She was literally only _thirteen_ back then, and Blake didn't even consider the notion of things like kissing - let alone kissing someone of the same sex. Ilia, on the other hand, was sure enough of herself to be open about it and hinted at the Cat-Faunus many times about her feelings. At the time, the Cat-Faunus let things get lost in translation and they both ended up growing apart before she moved to Vale.

Well... now fast forward to the present...

The Cat-Faunus was comfortable enough with herself now to admit that she was open to the prospect of dating a girl. Hell, she would never admit this out loud but when she first saw Pyrrha back in middle school, she was immediately attracted to her. But, the Cat-Faunus' naturally reserved nature prevented her from getting to know the Amazonian beauty on a deeper level.

Suddenly, a certain blonde made her way into the Faunus girl's thoughts and she quickly shook her head.

 _Get a hold of yourself, Blake_.

"Alright, Class! That concludes today's lesson; don't forget to do the assigned readings and homework!"

The class collectively responded by giving the boisterous man half-hearted noises of affirmation. The Cat-Faunus then expectantly stared at the Reptile girl before her, and was met with yet another unreadable gaze. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned her head to find Weiss giving her a worried look. The Cat-Faunus gave her a reassuring smile in an attempt to ease the former heiress' mind.

"Lets just talk in the back, Blake."

Blake turned her head towards Ilia, and nodded, "Alright."

As they made their way towards the back of the lecture hall, the Cat-Faunus didn't fail to notice how painfully obvious the rest of her friends were tailing them. She almost had half the mind to tell them to screw off, but she hesitated a little too much and already found herself at the back of the room with the other girl. Blake then briefly glanced over her shoulder, and was wildly unimpressed by their attempt at being inconspicuous. She briefly made eye contact with Velvet; who in turn mouthed the words 'sorry' to her. In response, Blake gave her an exasperated smile.

"Your friends aren't exactly skilled in the _tact_ department, are they?"

The Cat-Faunus sighed, "No they are not," she then turned her head to face Ilia and decided to get straight to the point, "Listen, Ilia. I'm not really in the mood for heated confrontation and-"

Ilia swiftly bent down in an apologetic bow, "I'm sorry!"

Blake blinked, "Um... what?"

The Chameleon-Faunus sighed, "Blake, we didn't exactly end things well when we were kids and I actually think about that a lot..." The Cat-Faunus remained silent to prompt the girl to go on, "and now that I'm older and not a total bigot, I've realized just how... _wrong_ the White-Fang is. You know that I didn't mean it when I called you and your family weak for not supporting them, right?"

The Cat-Faunus' gaze softened, "Ilia, we were only kids back then. There's no need to go on; I forgive you. "

"Great!" the Reptile Faunus perked up, "so... friends?" she asked feebly as she offered the Cat-Faunus a hand.

Blake simply smiled back at the girl, "You know... friends can hug too, right?"

"Is that a yes?"

"That's a yes, Ilia."

The Cat-Faunus was then taken aback slightly when the girl let out a tiny squeal and engulfed her in a bone-crushing hug.

Suddenly, a certain fashionista decided that it was appropriate to pipe up,

"Blake doesn't hug _us_ like that... wait, does she even hug us at all- agh!"

The raven-haired girl grabbed a pencil from a vacant desk and threw it at Coco.

* * *

The fiery blonde threw yet another furious punch at the training pad in front of her.

She ignored the pained grunt that emitted from the girl who was spotting her, and continued to jab at the thing. For the past half hour, Yang had been practicing and sparring furiously in one of Beacon's athletic's training rooms to let off some steam. It was currently the blonde girl's lunch period, but she was just too _irritated_ to eat lunch with her friends; and maybe a certain Chameleon-Faunus joining them might have been a facilitating factor for her sudden mood too.

" _Oum_ , Yang are you trying to kill me?!"

Yang finally snapped out of it and immediately ceased her reign of punches, "Shi-! Sorry Pyrrha!"

The abused redhead simply dropped the training pad, and massaged the arm that had endured the brunt of Yang's frustration. She then let out a long, low whistle, "Jeez... If your end goal is to basically _murder_ your opponent, then I think you're good."

"Murdering an opponent is illegal in a match, Pyrrha."

"Murdering in general is just plain illegal, Yang."

The blonde rolled her eyes at the obvious fact and began to unwrap her hands from their bandages. She didn't know exactly why she would wrap the both of them in hand wraps; seeing as her right hand was a prosthetic. It just felt more natural to the girl to do so.

"So _who_ was it that you were imagining as the training pad, and ah-! don't try to lie to me! I could feel that those punches were meant for _someone._ " Yang continued to hold her mouth open in protest, but Pyrrha's prompt statement about her hits being intended for someone caused her to shut it. She then opted to be stubborn and stayed quiet with a small pout.

Pyrrha sighed, "It wouldn't have happened to be a certain Chameleon-Faunus, would it?"

In response, the blonde began to stutter a pathetic excuse of an answer. The tall redhead smiled at the struggling blonde, and let out a small laugh, "Bingo."

"Shut up, Pyrrha!" the blonde groaned.

"So you haven't seduced Blake with your _ever confident_ charm yet?"

Yang exhaled sharply at the redhead's words, but then decided to play a little trick on her. She then pretended to address someone at the entrance of the room with a wave, "Oh heya, Jaune!"

The blonde watched with absolute entertainment as the tall Amazonian girl lit up like a christmas tree while failing miserably at covering her body. They were both currently having a breather from their intense workout in nothing but their gym shorts and sports bras. Yang honestly didn't know why Pyrrha always acted so adorably bashful when it came to exposing her skin; if anything, she thought the girl should totally flaunt it.

Especially towards a certain awkward blonde boy.

"AH! Uh- I, J-Jaune! I didn't know t-that you were..." Pyrrha's voice trailed off when she saw that the boy was, in fact, _not_ in their general vicinity. Yang then let out a boisterous laugh, but it was cut short by the sudden sensation of a training mat being _whipped_ at her.

"Fuc- OUCH!"

Pyrrha let out an indignant 'hmmph,' "that's what you get!"

"So how are things going with tall, blonde and scraggly?"

"Things are not going."

Yang laughed, "Yikes..."

"Hey! Don't digress from topic at _hand..._ " Yang 'boo'd' at the redhead's attempt at a pun, "lets get back to talking about tall, dark and cat-ears."

The blonde groaned, "Pyrrha, there's nothing _to_ talk about! Like, I've tried being playful with her, and _that_ backfired; I've tried being a little more serious with her, and although her reactions are cute there's _still_ no progression in our relationship. N _othing_ seems to be working!"

The tall redhead hummed in contemplation... "Well, have you tried being straight up about it?"

Yang opened her mouth to give the girl a snarky response, but then she closed it. She then blinked at Pyrrha, "what?"

"You know... have you tried just _asking_ her on a date or something?" the redhead suggested, "don't tell me that you've only been hinting at her with your horrible flirting..."

The blonde got defensive at that last part, "My flirting isn't _horrible_!"

"You're missing the point, Yang..."

"Which is...?"

Pyrrha sighed, "I've somewhat known Blake for a while now, and I can tell you this: she's the type of girl who you need to be straightforward with. I don't know if it's because she's oblivious or reserved but I _do_ know that she appreciates it when someone just gets to the point with her. Yang, just go for it... what's the worst she could do? say no?"

"That, in fact, _is_ the worst she could do... and I just might die if she does..." the blonde mumbled.

"Yang..."

The yellow-haired girl laughed, "Alright! Alright! I'll take your advice..."

Pyrrha smiled and nodded at the girl, "just be straightforward."

"Right..." Yang awkwardly laughed.

"just be straight up..."

* * *

 **Excuse me as I shove a couple of wrenches between the pairs within the fanfic! LOL I just watched the Blake character short and HAD to add Ilia into this somehow; and why not as a WRENCH into our fave bumblebee's relationship?! buwahahhaha. Idk if she's going to be totally antagonizing yet... stay tuned to find out xD**

 **Welp,**

 **I hope you guys are still enjoying the story, and that your school year is off to a great start!**

 **Until next time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	19. Chapter 19

The Faunus woman could feel the burning sensation of her overworked leg muscles with each and every step she took. Despite the obvious muscle pain and lack of oxygen intake being a warning sign for her to cease her 'light morning run,' the Cat-Faunus stubbornly went on. She then inwardly scoffed at herself; Who was she kidding? The woman was basically sprinting the course of downtown Vale at this point.

Earlier, she had finished her routine run of the gated neighbourhood that she lived in, but she still felt a little agitated. So she decided to extend her run to the downtown area of Vale, and soon realized that doing so may have been a little much.

Suddenly, the Belladonna Matron could no longer ignore the exhaustion that she had been feeling from pushing herself, and slowly reduced her run to a leisurely walk. Kali held her hands to her hips as she continued on, and took in deep breaths to fill her lungs with some much needed air.

She then opted to take in her surroundings as she continued on this walk.

The Faunus woman was currently going through the core of the downtown area. So it was relatively packed, but not so much that it felt stifling. She actually quite enjoyed the compactness of her surroundings. It somewhat reminded her of Menagerie; well, minus the population overcrowding... but still, she was genuinely enjoying herself.

The whole vibe of the place was lively. The cobblestone path that she was walking on was riddled with various food stands and marketplaces advertising their own, unique trinkets/clothing. There were vibrantly-coloured fabrics displayed all throughout the marketplace; giving the area somewhat of a quaint, enjoyable personality.

"I should come around this part of town more often..." she mused aloud.

A small smile couldn't help but find it's way to her face as she soaked in the atmosphere of downtown Vale. Humans and Faunus alike were politely buzzing about. If she listened closely enough, she could hear the faint sound of street music being played. The way in which everyone was getting around initially seemed disorganized and random at first; but, as Kali began to pay more attention, she found that everyone actually seemed to know where the others were going. If Kali had to describe the way the atmosphere was, she would probably say that it's akin to organized chaos.

And she loved it.

It was a stark contrast to the painfully organized, and dull vibe that the gated community of Vale Orchard seemed to have. Sure, the community was safe and easy to get around... but it was filled with people who didn't really care for common courtesy, and were unnecessarily passive-aggressive about _everything_. The Belladonna Matron herself was a rather sociable person, but the type of people within the community that she lived in were dreadful to talk to. It took her a while to figure it out, but she eventually found that majority of the people in the Orchard wouldn't actually talk to one another unless there was something that they could gain from that interaction.

So it made for a rather boring social life for the Faunus woman.

"Kali?"

The Belladonna Matron turned her head to see who addressed her, and was pleasantly surprised when she recognized who it was.

Kali smiled, "Long time no see, Qrow."

The man let out a raspy laugh, "ditto, Kali." The two then engaged in a friendly hug. However, Qrow suddenly began to wrinkle his nose, "Gross... if I'd known that you were all sweaty, I wouldn't have hugged you."

The Faunus woman rolled her eyes, "and _that_ is why I was more popular with the girls than you were."

"Because you were always gross and dirty?"

"No... because I was always _down_ to get dirty."

The raven-haired man playfully groaned at that statement with mock disgust, "Ugh... it's great to know that some people never change."

The Faunus woman laughed with unadulterated mirth at the man's reaction. The two were notorious for their fraternization with both the boys and girls alike during their years spent at Beacon Academy. Although, they both had a preference more for the girls... but that didn't mean they were immune to the good looks of some of the males at their old school; _especially_ the boys who would come overseas for the Vytal Festival.

Some might say that the two had a friendly rivalry going on with regards to who could land more dates than the other. Well, that was before Kali started dating Vi and-

 _Crap._

The _one_ person that she didn't want to think about suddenly engulfed her mind. After that outburst that the Schnee Matron had at her house, the Faunus woman was ridden with guilt whenever she thought about her past actions.

"That's quite the frown you've got there... everything okay, Kal?"

"W-what? I'm alright, Qrow," the Faunus woman quickly shook her head to get some of the lingering, negative thoughts out, "Anyways, what brings you back to Vale? Does Summer and Raven know that you're back in town?"

Qrow smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "Well... I've kind of got a client in town who wants me to do some digging on an estranged relative. And yeah, Rae and Summer know that I'm back; they actually just sent me out to do some errands for them." He then gestured to his feet, where there were two large bags of groceries laid next to them.

The Faunus woman nodded in understanding, "Oh... how's the PI business doing for you?"

"It's adventurous, to say the least. And it's keeping me afloat," the man shrugged, "I kind of live a minimalistic, bachelor-type lifestyle. So that makes it easier for me..."

"And you say that _I_ never change... you still haven't found Mr. or Mrs. Right, yet?"

Qrow rolled his eyes at her, "You know me, Kal. It's more like I'm Mr. Wrong."

Kali laughed awkwardly at that. Mostly because she knew where Qrow was coming from. If she could recall correctly, whenever the man took a relationship seriously back in their earlier years, it would backfire _immensely_. It was actually quite comical even; but it never stopped Qrow from participating in his devilish, flirtatious ways.

Suddenly, the Faunus woman's ears twitched at the sound of a message tone from someone's scroll. She watched as Qrow reached into his back pocket to read that said message. Once he did, he let out an annoyed grunt and shoved it right back. He then gave Kali an apologetic look.

"Duty calls.."

"Something wrong with the client?" Kali questioned, "that was a pretty disgruntled grunt."

Qrow rolled his eyes, "I won't say much because of the whole 'confidentiality thing...' but this time around, my client is a bit too prissy for my liking."

The Faunus woman hummed in amusement, "Well, I wouldn't want to keep you from your job..."

"Heh, I'll see you around, Kali."

"Absolutely! If you're still in town for the next couple of days, I'll come visit you and the others." Qrow simply nodded in agreement, and went on his way. Kali kept the pleasant smile on her face as she watched his receding form. However, when he was completely out of the Faunus woman's line of sight, that smile slowly faded away as she thought about a certain Schnee. She sighed.

 _Come on... there's no use in thinking about the 'what ifs' now. Everything's already been said and done!_

The raven-haired woman exhaled sharply, and started to walk towards the direction of the gated community that she lived in. As much as she'd like to literally run away from her problems, she still had the responsibility of running a world-renown, non-profit organization. She had a number of conference calls to attend to; which were pivotal for her plans of expanding the resources that her organization could provide for struggling Faunus and humans alike.

She then found that her brisk walk was slowly transforming into a light jog.

"Maybe a little more running will do the trick."

She steeled herself for another running session, and controlled her breathing.

After a moment of mentally preparing herself...

She ran.

* * *

Weiss and Blake were currently lounging around in the white-haired girl's room, trying to unwind from their rather eventful day. They were both lying down on her bed; with the former heiress comfortably stretched out on her back, and Blake lying on her stomach while she read one of her books. Weiss noted with silent mirth that the Cat-Faunus was reading one of the more _raunchy_ book series that she owned. It was called ' _Ninjas of Love,'_ and Blake had been completely engrossed with it for the past half hour or so.

When the series first came out, Weiss remembered that she tried to get into it too...

Well, that was before she realized that it was basically pure, remarkably detailed smut with somewhat of a plot added onto it. She could only get as far as the second chapter before she would implode from the vulgar descriptions of sex/love-making that the book contained. She then inwardly wondered how the Cat-Faunus could read such content with such indifference. Weiss stared at the Faunus girl with awe and slight incredulousness as she continued to read the book with a blank face.

The white-haired girl pondered that maybe the development of the relationships within the books was what kept the girl interested in them.

Then, at the prospect of developing relationships, Weiss let out a small smile of amusement as she thought about the events that played out during their lunch break.

For the majority of their lunch, Yang had decided to get a little workout in and left with Pyrrha to do so. This resulted in two certain Faunus' becoming a tad jealous for two different reasons. It was actually kind of cute, really (Well, on Blake's part). Whenever the Cat-Faunus would sense someone walking towards her general direction, she would perk up immediately... only to have her ears flatten in disappointment when the person approaching her was in fact, _not_ a certain blonde.

To add more to the 'drama,' Ilia seemed to notice these small gestures that the Cat-Faunus would make, and in turn would futility try to distract her. When it became obvious that her attempts were in vain, the Chameleon Faunus began to sulk a little at the lack of attention she was getting from Blake. However, that didn't stop her from at least being nice enough to engage in conversation with the rest of the girls.

So far, from what Weiss could tell, Ilia actually seemed like an okay girl. She informed everyone that she was at Beacon on a sports scholarship too; she specialized in gymnastics and hoped to go professional. She could also carry on a conversation really well, and was quite friendly. Although, that didn't exactly mean that the former heiress fully trusted the Faunus girl yet.

"Thinking of something perverted?"

Weiss quirked an eyebrow at the raven-haired girl. "Really? Out of the both of us, I think it'd be _you_ who would be having the perverted thoughts, Blake," she droned as she gestured towards the girl's book. This comment caused Blake to redden a little bit, but then she became defiant.

" _You_ just don't understand the artistry and romance that this series offers, Weiss."

In response, the former heiress laughed. "At a point in the book, Hiro's penis is described as a _'Katana that gracefully pierces Natsume's flower'_..." she smirked at the Faunus girl, "although the use of imagery is rather elegant, what it's actually alluding to sort of takes away from the 'artistry' and 'romance' that you claim it describes, Blake"

Blake simply shut her book and playfully rolled her eyes at Weiss. "So what was that 'not perverted' thing you were thinking about?"

"Oh just Ilia, who was fawning over you; who incidentally was also fawning over Yang..."

"I-I was not 'fawning' over Yang!" the Faunus girl immediately defended, "and Ilia is just a friend."

Weiss gave her a deadpan look that told her that she wasn't buying any of her bull about either of the two girls. "Blake, come on... I think we're good enough friends for you to at least not lie to me about your feelings." Weiss sighed. "If you don't feel _comfortable_ with telling me then that's fine... but-"

" _No!_ That's not-! " Blake let out a long sigh, "that's not it, Weiss. You know that I'd trust you with anything..."

Weiss then gave her an expression of understanding that also told her to go on. After a moment of silence, Blake seemed to resolve herself to tell the former heiress just _what_ was going on in that head of hers. "I'm not going to deny the fact that I'm feeling some sort of attraction towards Yang..." The former heiress opened her mouth to comment on that statement, but Blake held a hand up to stop her, " _But_ , that doesn't mean that I think that anything is actually going to grow from it if I try to pursue her..."

Weiss furrowed her brows in confusion. Blake caught the gesture and scratched her head, "I mean, Weiss... have you seen how much of a flirt the girl is?! and she's like that with _everybody,_ " she spread her arms wide to emphasize her point, "and there's also the fact that she's always with Pyrrha and other _really hot_ girls...I legitimately can't tell if she likes me that way or not!"

The Faunus girl sighed, "am I just overthinking it?"

Weiss went to give her the seemingly obvious answer of 'yes,' but then she closed her mouth when she saw the expression of exasperation on Blake's face. She then opted to take the girl seriously, as it seemed like she was actually disgruntled by the situation. And... adding in the factor of Ilia, who most likely had a history with Blake, things probably weren't easy for her.

The white-haired girl hummed in contemplation, "Well, you _are_ right about Yang being a horrible flirt..." Blake gave her a thankful look when she acknowledged that very fundamental point. But then she gave the Faunus girl a wicked smile, "have you considered giving the oaf a taste of her own medicine?"

Blake initially gave Weiss a look of confusion, "You want me to make her jealous?"

"Wha-! No! Oh god, no! That almost never works..." Weiss then sighed, "I meant: have you tried flirting back?" Blake gave her an unimpressed, blank look.

The white-haired girl rolled her eyes, "Well, if she flirts back or acts flustered then it's probably a good indicator of her reciprocating your feelings...?" Weiss saw that the Faunus girl was going to give her a retort, but then it seemed like she was actually considering her suggestion as an option. Then, much to the Schnee's amusement, Blake let out a little whine.

"Ughh... but I _suck_ at flirting."

Weiss quirked a brow at that, "It didn't seem like you were bad at it when you were flirting with Ilia..."

"That was _not-!_ " Blake huffed, but then immediately deflated, "if you didn't notice, _she_ was doing the majority of the 'flirting' or whatever... I just react!"

Weiss squinted her eyes at the Cat-Faunus in disbelief. But, when the white-haired girl thought about it, Blake was right. Whenever the girl did engage in any form of flirtatious banter, she was always on the receiving end of it and never flirted back. She then smiled at Blake with unadulterated mirth.

"Your mother would be very disappointed in you, Blak-oomf!" The Cat-Faunus shoved a pillow in Weiss' face.

"My mother is a fiend, Weiss."

Weiss chuckled as she removed the pillow from her face, "then tap into your inner fiend, Blake... C'mon, like Kali said: you're a Belladonna!" At this point, Weiss was definitely teasing the Cat-Faunus. However, she was somewhat serious in the advice that she was giving the dark-haired girl. And maybe she was also interested in what kind of developments would arise if the Cat-Faunus decided to be more bold towards the blonde bimbo.

"What was that about me being a fiend?"

Weiss whipped her head towards the sound of Kali's voice, and saw that the woman was leaning at her doorway with an expression of mock hurt. She then yelped when she felt Blake smack her and turned to give her an incredulous look. Blake was currently giving the former heiress a look of desperation, but Weiss responded by giving her an expression that told her she was on her own. The Cat-Faunus simply gave the white-haired girl one last baleful stare, and then turned to address her mother.

"Uhh, mom! H-How were your conference calls?" The former heiress gave the Faunus girl a sidelong smile at the attempt of subject change.

Her mother let out a long sigh, "Oh I just had some long-winded negotiations about the allocation of proper resources towards the less privileged Faunus and humans of Remnant. We actually are really close to expanding the organization to Atlas; and God knows that their Faunus population needs it..." The former heiress nodded in agreement to that last part of the Faunus woman's statement about Atlas' Faunus civilians. But before she could verbally agree with the woman, she watched as Kali made her way towards her bed.

The former heiress then automatically scooched over to let the woman sit with them. Kali gave her a thankful look, but then she turned to her daughter with an amused smile. "Now, to get back to the subject at hand... _why_ is my own daughter calling me a fiend?"

"Because you are a shameless flirt, mother."

"You wouldn't be the first to tell me that, Blake," Kali quipped, "now, what led you two to speak of my ' _fiendish_ ' ways?"

Weiss noted with silent mirth that Kali was intent on having Blake admit that she was having troubles with her romantic endeavours. When Blake replied to the woman with stubborn silence, Weiss took it upon herself to inform the Faunus woman of Blake's problems. She inwardly shrugged; maybe Kali had some helpful advice to give.

"Your daughter is just lamenting over the fact that she isn't a ' _fiend_ ' herself."

Kali smirked at the former heiress, "Oh?"

"W-Weiss! What the heck?" Blake groaned. Weiss simply shrugged, "Hey! Maybe Kali has some helpful tips for you; and we both _know_ that you'll need it." In response, Blake rolled her eyes. Kali, however, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself as she observed her daughter's flustered behaviour.

The Faunus woman chuckled, "Well, you don't have to tell me the specifics about _whose_ attention that you're trying to get... although, I have a pretty good hunch that it's a certain _blonde_..." Weiss almost laughed at the beet-red tint that immediately engulfed the Faunus girls cheeks. Kali then gave her daughter an exasperated, but genuine smile, "however, if you're not comfortable with outright flirting with this said _person_ yet, then get their attention by physical attraction. Dress up a little, and see if they'll notice how _great_ you look. If they do, then that can help you leeway into flirtatious banter."

Blake seemed to be taking Kali's advice seriously. She then sighed, "Okay... maybe I'll start with that."

The Faunus woman nodded at her daughter with a smile, and then made her way out of the white-haired girls room. However, before she fully left her doorway, the woman turned around and gave Blake a wicked smirk, "I'm pretty sure Yang will definitely catch on to your advances..." Weiss openly laughed at that comment; but more so because of the reaction it elicited from the Faunus girl beside her.

Blake grabbed another pillow and whipped it at the door, "M-MOM!"

Kali simply dodged the flying object with ease and left the doorway. "Good luck, dear daughter!"

"Insufferable woman..." the raven-haired girl mumbled. The two girls then entered a comfortable, silent lull. However, that lull was suddenly broken by Weiss who decided to muse aloud. "So, would you like some _help_ with setting up your clothes to seduce that blonde oaf?"

Blake immediately flushed at the question, but then much to Weiss' amusement, the Faunus girl slowly nodded.

This caused the white-haired girl to immediately get up from her bed. She then started towards her wardrobe in search for a certain article of clothing that she _knew_ would look flattering on Blake.

"Oh I've got _just_ the thing for you, Blake." The dark-haired girl grunted in response.

Weiss ignored the less than enthusiastic response from the Faunus girl and began to rummage through her clothes.

It's _time to work my magic..._

* * *

"Just let me work my magic, kid! Do you really need to know every detail of how I'm going to do my job?!"

Winter blankly stared at the raven-haired man before her as an indicator that she didn't exactly _trust_ him. This, in turn, caused the man to groan with pure exasperation. He ran a hand through his hair and huffed, "Listen, Winter; was it Winter?" The white-haired woman confirmed that he was right with a nod. He then scoffed with amusement, "Of course the Ice Queen would name her kid after the coldest season of the year..."

The woman simply quirked a brow at the statement, but prompted the man to go on with a slight nod of her head. He sighed, "Since the information about your grandfather's whereabouts are ridiculously scarce, I'm going to have to personally get inside the system to get that said information; trust me, the less you know the better. And I don't need you meddling with my business."

After a standoffish moment of willful glares, Winter finally relented, "Fine. But once you find the information about Nicholas' location, you immediately report back to _me_. Alright, Qrow?"

Qrow simply raised his arms in mock surrender, "Yes, sir..." This childish response caused the white-haired woman to scoff. "Real mature."

He winked at her, "I try."

Winter cursed her slowly reddening cheeks for reacting to the man's small, meaningless gesture. She tried to hide it with a cough. She then abruptly stood up, "Well, I'll be off now. Try to inform me of how things are going every other day or so."

Qrow leaned back into his chair, "You sure you don't wanna stay and have a bite? This place makes the _best_ Grimm Burgers.."

Winter flushed yet again and turned around, "I'll pass."

"If you say so..."

The white-haired woman then briskly made her way towards the exit of the small, rustic pub. She remembered to at least show the Rabbit-Faunus hostess some common decency and smiled at the girl as she thanked the woman for her patronage while she left. When she made it out of the pub, she walked with leisure on the rather dirty cobblestone path. She noted that it was still mid-afternoon, so she wasn't too worried about walking around in such a place with the sun still high up in the sky. Not that the woman didn't know how to defend herself. It's just that the general area wasn't exactly 'safe-looking'.

As she continued her walk, her mind then drifted back to the conversation that she had with Qrow regarding the search for her grandfather; and she became quite annoyed.

 _What an insufferable, childish man!_

Winter huffed, but then she became annoyed with her next thoughts.

 _He's kind of cute, though._ She shook her head, "Stay focused!"

Winter wouldn't even be associating herself with Qrow if he didn't specialize in the field of Private Investigation. She needed to find her grandfather. Something about her mother's story didn't add up, and she was going to find out the truth whether her father liked it or not. She knew that Nicholas was currently living in a special facility, but the white-haired woman just didn't know _where_ it was. And she was positive that her mother didn't know either, especially considering the fact that she hasn't talked to the man since she graduated from Beacon.

Winter was determined to free her family from Jacques' wrath. It took all of the woman's willpower to not storm off to her father and give him a verbal lashing after their mother told them her story. It was more than obvious that her mother was manipulated; and it _enraged_ Winter. Sure, she didn't have the best relationship with Viktoria, but that was only because she thought the woman was weak and resigned herself to living such a meaningless life. But now that she knew just how much of Jacques' bullshit the woman had to endure, Winter wanted so badly to free her from him.

She deserved happiness.

Especially with a certain Cat-Faunus woman.

The white-haired woman let out a small smile at that thought. When they were back at Kali's house, Winter didn't fail to notice the way in which the two women interacted. Her assumptions were confirmed when Weiss outright confronted Viktoria about it, though. Which was another thing that shocked Winter. She didn't expect for Weiss to be so direct with their mother.

In the past, it seemed like Weiss was slightly scared of Viktoria. Whenever Winter would observe the two interact, it felt as if Weiss was walking on eggshells while she tried to talk with their mother. Well... Viktoria having a horrible drinking problem probably contributed to the girl's apprehensiveness. However, Viktoria was never an angry drunk, at least not at home; she would just seem to enter this void of listlessness and wander around the mansion.

It was like living with a ghost.

But, now that she was trying to quit her drinking habits, Winter could sense the life seeping back into their mother. She was relieved for that. And she noted with amusement that Weiss was actually a lot like Viktoria in _many_ regards.

She smiled, "We'll have a normal family soon enough."

Winter was going to free them no matter what. After she receives the information of Nicholas' whereabouts from Qrow, she planned to tell her mother so that she could finally confront him about what actually happened all those years ago.

She then sighed,

"This is going to be a _long_ couple of months..."

They _all_ needed the closure.

* * *

 **Get ready for flirty Blake in the next chapter! xD** **Shit about to go _down_ with the Schnee's in the upcoming chapters too :P both romance and drama-wise!**

 **Hope you guys are still enjoying it :D :D**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	20. Chapter 20

**LOL Enjoy this chapter, you guys! :P**

* * *

The Cat-Faunus shifted uncomfortably at the stares that she was receiving from both guys and girls alike as she walked through Beacon's hallways. She took her mom's advice, and decided to put more effort into her appearance the next day. However, she might have overdone it because she was getting a lot of unwanted attention.

She was currently walking throughout the halls in a black pencil skirt that stopped just below her mid-thigh. She thought it did a very good job at accentuating her hips, and backside - although, the amount of leg it exposed might have been too much for the Faunus girl's liking. As for her top: she donned on a white, long-sleeve blouse which she rolled up to her forearms. She also made sure to undo the first two buttons of the blouse to show off a bit of her bosom.

Blake knew that she had somewhat of a nice body. She just wasn't used to exposing certain parts of it. You know... like her freaking breasts.

But, she had to admit: she was starting to feel a little bit more confident as she continued to be noticed by the people around her; well, only marginally so. Like a really, _really_ small amount of confidence had seeped into her body.

Okay... actually, no. That was a total lie. On the inside, Blake was totally _freaking out_. She honestly had no idea what the _hell_ she was doing! Like, what the heck was she going to do after Yang actually saw her? She didn't think that far ahead. Was she going to muster up the courage to actually _flirt_ with the blonde bombshell? What if Yang was completely unfazed by her appearance?!

It also didn't help at all that Weiss would stare at her every so often, while smiling deviously. Blake inwardly rolled her eyes, as the white-haired girl was probably anticipating some kind of interesting development between her and Yang. She didn't know if Weiss had helped her out of friendship or for her personal entertainment; it was probably both. Even so, Blake at least knew Weiss had (mostly) good intentions when she decided to help her out with the whole 'Yang' thing.

Weiss was still one of her closest friends, after all.

Suddenly, the sound of someone Cat-Calling her caused both of the girls to cease their walking. Blake furrowed her brows, whereas Weiss opted to immediately glare at the cat-calling assailant. The Faunus girl then saw that Weiss' facial expression immediately flattened when she recognized who it was.

" _Damn,_ Blakey. You almost look as hot as your mom."

Blake turned her head to stare blankly at the fashionista, "Please don't bring my mother into this." The three then continued to make their way towards their first class. Coco simply raised her arms up in surrender at the Faunus girl's request.

"Also, try not to fall in love," Blake added flatly.

The abrupt cackling of a certain former heiress caused Blake to raise her ears in annoyance. She then turned to address the white-haired girl, who was currently holding her stomach as she laughed. The Faunus girl was kind of worried that Weiss might actually topple over with how hard she was laughing.

"If _that_ was a little tidbit of how you 'flirt,' then I cannot _wait_ until you actually try it with Yang, bahahaha!"

Coco gave the Cat-Faunus an amused, sidelong smirk, "Oh so you're finally trying to make a move on Yang, are you? How _bold_."

Blake scoffed, but then offered Coco a smirk of her own, "Don't you have dinner plans with Velvet to think about?"

The Faunus girl noted with amusement that this prompt caused the brown-haired girl to become immediately flustered. She also saw that Weiss was giving the girl an entertained smile too. "W-Wai-! H-How did you-? What- I-!"

The Cat-Faunus simply gestured to her feline appendages and the fashionista let out a silent 'oh.' Coco then crossed her arms, "touché, Blake. touché."

"The day hasn't even started yet and I can already tell it's going to be eventful." Weiss remarked. The unnecessary comment made Blake sigh with resignation; Coco, on the other hand, smiled deviously and grabbed the former heiress by her shoulders. Weiss responded by giving the girl and incredulous look.

The fashionista stopped their walking, and stared seriously at Weiss. She then took in a deep breath and said one, simple name.

Coco smirked, "Ruby."

At the mere mention of their hyperactive friend's name, Weiss' cheeks were immediately engulfed with a familiar red tint; and Blake _lost_ it.

"Oh my God, Weiss! Coco only said the girl's _name_!" Blake exclaimed as she laughed.

Coco joined her, "Oh she's got it _bad._ "

"S-Shut up!" Weiss smacked the both of their shoulders (half-playfully), and began to stomp her way towards their Dust Studies class. Both of the girls simply shared amused smiles and followed suit with the grumpy Schnee. Weiss was the first one out of the three of them to barge into the lecture hall. Blake was going to follow the girl, but then her nerves prevented her from actually walking in.

Coco seemed to have noticed the change in her demeanour, and gave her an exasperated but encouraging smile. "Nervous?"

"Is it that obvious?"

The fashionista nodded, but then she smiled cunningly at the Faunus girl. "Then maybe all you need is a little push..."

Blake couldn't even give the girl a confused look before she was pushed unceremoniously into the door in front of her. A fundamental element that the idiot fashionista didn't take into consideration was the that the door was, in fact, a _pull_ door. This meant that all Coco managed to do was completely _shove_ Blake into the door before them. The brown-haired girl was lucky that Blake had instinctively raised her arms in defence.

However, that didn't take away from the reality that it fucking _hurt._

She was also certain that they made a big enough commotion to cause the people in the lecture hall to stare curiously at that the entrance they were about to go through. Blake's worst fears were confirmed when she briefly peered into the small glass window of the door. She saw that a hefty number of students were already staring at it with expectance, and she suddenly was filled with dread. The Cat-Faunus then turned around to face Coco, and gave her an expression of unbridled _rage_.

" _Coco, what the hell was that?!"_ she half whisper-yelled at the brown-haired girl.

" _I thought you needed a dramatic entrance!_ " she whisper-yelled back.

Blake rolled her eyes with utter annoyance at that, _"Apparently you also thought I needed a broken arm, too! Coco, that fucking HURT!"_

" _I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"_ Coco (sort of) apologized as she raised her arms in defence, " _Wait... why are we whispering? Nobody's out here."_

 _"Because it's now freakishly quiet in the lecture hall!"_ Coco simply let out a silent 'oh,' but then quirked an eyebrow at the Faunus girl, " _we still need to walk inside!"_

 _"Thank you, Coco, for stating the freaking obvious!"_ Blake huffed.

The fashionista responded with an awkward smile. But then Blake watched on as the brown-haired girl marginally cracked the door open. Coco turned to her, and winked, "Well... I'm going to get into class before we're late."

Before Blake could reply to the girl, the blaring sound of the school bell invaded her ears and Coco had slipped into the lecture hall. For a couple of moments, the Cat-Faunus merely stared at the closed door in absolute disbelief. Her jaw was dropped, and she had half the mind to turn around and skip her first class of the day. In fact, she _was_ in the process of promptly turning around and walking away, but then the door was abruptly pulled open.

"Ah! Ms. Belladonna... did you forget the direction of my Dust Studies class?"

The Faunus girl inwardly screamed.

She immediately turned around to face the boisterous man, and rubbed the back of her head nervously. "O-Of course not, Professor Port. I was just-!"

"In the process of walking inside the lecture hall?" the man finished.

Blake nodded silently in response to the professor's suggestion, and briskly walked past him towards the lecture hall. When she finally entered the room, she ignored the looks of surprise that many of the students had in response to her apparel, and scanned the class to outright _glare_ at a certain fashionista. When her eyes finally found the brown-haired girl, she mouthed the words ' _what the fuck_?!' as the girl met her gaze. In response, Coco shrugged nonchalantly and Blake almost cussed at her out loud in front of the entire class.

She was then reminded of the fact that she was still in front of the entire class when Professor Port coughed. Her eyes widened in embarrassment, and she promptly made her way towards the area in which her friends were situated at. She quickly noted that the rest of the girls were mostly sitting together at the end of one the rows, in the middle of the lecture hall. And much to her amusement, it seemed that the other two of her trio had paired off with their respective 'partners'. Both Ruby and Weiss were sitting one row above the other three; with Coco and Velvet sitting to the left of Yang.

This arrangement set the Faunus girl up to sit next to the blonde at the very end of the row. She then inwardly groaned as she knew for a _fact_ that Weiss and Coco sat this way so they could get a front-row seat of what Blake was going to do.

Whatever _that_ was...

Her gaze finally fell onto her target at hand, and she was met with a stupefied Yang. The blonde had a small blush adorning her cheeks, and was straight up ogling Blake with a dazed expression. Initially, the Faunus girl inwardly squirmed at the unadulterated scrutinization she received from the blonde. However, she then calmed herself down by thinking that the girl's reaction was probably a good sign; meaning that Yang was totally into her outfit. That fact gave Blake the courage she needed to continue up the stairs that led to her seat with the others.

She made sure to accentuate the way her hips moved as she walked, and she smiled inwardly when she noticed that Yang's eyes had followed their movement. When she finally made it to her seat, she placed a hand on the desk and leaned in. This action caused the blonde before her to quickly flit her eyes at Blake's chest, but then she immediately regained eye contact with her. Blake then ran her right hand through her own hair.

She flashed the blonde a smirk,

" _Hey_."

* * *

Coco had to physically bite down on her tongue to stop herself from laughing at the 'flirty' smile that Blake was displaying towards Yang. Weiss, however, didn't fare well and let out a brief snicker.

The fashionista didn't blame her, as Blake was currently giving the blonde one of the most awkward smiles that Coco had ever seen on the Faunus girl's face. The brown-haired girl assumed that the Cat-Faunus _thought_ that she was giving Yang a 'flirtatious smirk.' In reality, Blake just looked like she was giving Yang one of those awkward, close-mouthed smiles you give to an acquaintance that you happen to come across at a grocery store or something.

" _Hey_."

Coco's eyes widened at the immense _flatness_ of the Faunus girl's tone. It bordered to the girl sounding like she was mildly inconvenienced from greeting the blonde. Coco then quickly turned her head to face Weiss, but was met with the former heiress lying down her desk with her shoulders shaking from the hilarity of it all. The fashionista also noticed that Ruby and Velvet were observing the interaction with entertainment too.

"Buh- uh, E-Erm... H-Hey, Blake."

"Oh you have got to be _kidding_ me," Coco muttered under her breath.

Blake's awkward, indifferent charm was actually _working_ on the blonde bimbo. She then heard Velvet giggle at the situation, and she turned to share a knowing glance with the brown-haired Faunus. However, their little moment was suddenly interrupted by the conversation that the bumblebee pair were engaged in.

"Did you get a good workout in with Pyrrha yesterday?"

Yang squirmed, "U-Uh, Yeah! Gotta stay sharp for the Vytal Festival!" Blake nodded with indifference, and this seemed to make Yang panic, "H-heh! I'm aiming to become the junior champion for the Kick-Boxing tournament." She then flexed her right arm for the Cat-Faunus to feel.

"How do you think I'm doing so far?"

Coco was silently impressed by how Yang turned that around on Blake. She practically set up the Faunus girl to 'nonchalantly' check out her physique. Despite that fact, the brown-haired girl did not anticipate the hilarious action that Blake did in response to Yang's subtle query.

The fashionista watched, with silent baffled entertainment, as the Faunus girl went to feel up Yang's right forearm; which was a _fucking prosthetic_.

 _Oh my GOD, what is with this girl and Yang's arm!?_

"Wow... it's really solid..." Blake mused. To that, Coco almost lost it and had to bite down on her lip from full on guffawing.

Yang quirked a confused eyebrow at the raven-haired girl, "U-Uh, Blake...?"

The Cat-Faunus' eyes widened in realization, and she immediately went to correct her actions.

Now, any _normal_ person would have just nonchalantly slipped their hand up to the blonde's bicep, and act like nothing had happened.

The Faunus girl, however, did _not_ do such a thing. So Coco watched as Blake whipped her hand towards Yang's upper arm in panic, which she effectively ended up _smacking,_ rather than _feeling,_ in the process. This resulted in Yang yelping out in either surprise, or pain; the fashionista didn't know.

She only knew that the whole ordeal was _hilarious_.

"O-Oh my gosh- Yang, I'm so sorry! Oum, _why_ do I keep on doing this..."

Yang simply went to rub her upper arm, and gave the Faunus girl a lopsided smile, "D-Don't worry about it! Normally that wouldn't have hurt, but I'm still a little bruised there from training yesterday."

Coco then noted adorable way in which Blake's ears flattened in guilt; and saw the look of embarrassment that engulfed the girl's facial features. Yang caught notice of the sudden change in the Faunus girl's demeanour, and the fashionista could practically see the gears turning inside of the blonde's head. She then watched as Yang perked up while giving the Cat-Faunus a shit-eating grin.

"There _is_ a way that you could make up for the unintentional, various forms of abuse to me..." Yang suddenly proposed. Blake's ears raised marginally at the proposition, and the fashionista continued to watch as the Faunus girl gazed towards the blonde attentively. The bubbly blonde took in a deep breath, and then full on smiled at Blake.

"Puns."

"... I don't follow."

Even Coco tilted her head in confusion at Yang's request.

 _Why would she want Blake to-_

"I want the authorization of the use of cat-related puns for the next two weeks," Yang 'innocently' stated as she flashed the Faunus girl yet another smile.

 _Oh..._ Coco then felt a shit-eating grin forming on her own face too.

Then there was Blake, who simply sat there in unadulterated exasperation at the blonde girl's request. Coco shifted her body so she could get a good look at Blake's expression, and saw that the girl had a vacant look of resignation in her eyes. Her jaw was also dropped slightly in disbelief, and she could basically see the girl wondering _what_ had gotten her into this situation.

"You're not _serious_ are you?" Blake (futility) questioned.

Yang turned to face the girl, "Nope. I'm not _Kitten_ at all." The fashionista could _feel_ the grin that the blonde was giving Blake at the moment.

Blake, however, raised an unimpressed brow at the blonde.

"Oh C'mon, Blakey. You've got to admit: that one was pretty _Claw-ver_!"

Okay, Coco almost groaned at that one. Blake, on the other hand, remained silent.

"Don't be giving me the silent treatment _Meow,_ Blake! We've still got all day! Well actually, we've got the next two weeks!"

"Good _God_." Velvet suddenly interjected. The Rabbit-Faunus then leaned over the fashionista to address the raven-haired girl, "Blake, what have you _done?_ "

There was a moment of silence following the brown-haired Faunus' question, but then Blake slowly let out a small smile.

"I'm afraid I've unleashed some kind of _pun-_ ishment."

 _Oh my god, did she just-?_ Velvet immediately leaned back into her chair in despair, and pinched the bridge of her nose. Coco also heard the former heiress behind her utter a disbelieving ' _what_...' and it would seem that Ruby smacked her head against the desk with a dull _thud!_

If it were somehow possible, the blonde's smile widened even more so than before. "Now that's the right _Cattitude!"_

Blake rolled her eyes with a smile, "You only get _two_ _weeks_ with these puns. After that, there's no... _Meow_ -re"

"That one was _Paw-ful!_ " Yang playfully laughed.

"Oh? I thought it was _Purr_ -etty good."

Coco then inwardly groaned. Sure... she could handle the unintentional, flirtatious banter that Ruby and Weiss would display on a daily basis. And that was only because of the hilarious, bashful reactions that Weiss would show. However, the terrible _pun_ -flirting that Blake and Yang were exhibiting right now was something she felt like she would _barely_ be able to endure. If this was going to go on for at least two weeks, the fashionista might actually go insane.

Then the fashionista turned slightly bitter.

 _Oh, so when I make the Cat jokes it's 'borderline racist' and 'not funny,' but when YANG does them it's 'flirty...'_

Suddenly, Yang leaned in close towards the Faunus girl and winked, "You look _Paw-_ mazing by the way, Blake."

The blonde probably forgot to take into account that Coco was still right next to her. So the fashionista didn't miss this cute little observation that Yang made. She then watched as the Cat-Faunus' cheeks were slightly tinted a light shade of pink.

"T-Thanks."

Coco smiled deviously.

 _Maybe this won't be so bad after all._

"No _Purr-_ blem!"

 _Okay,_ _never mind_.

It's going to be terrible.

* * *

The Rabbit-Faunus smiled at the ridiculous, pun-flirty banter that both the black and yellow pair were engaged in at the moment. Despite the sheer _terribleness_ of it all, Velvet had to admit that it was rather cute. She would have never pegged Blake as a girl who actually _enjoyed_ puns. So, when the Cat-Faunus played along with Yang's proposition, Velvet was filled with both dread and surprise.

They were all just dismissed from their Dust Studies lecture; and were currently walking throughout Beacon's halls. Blake and Yang were leading their group at the front; with the Candy-Cane pair following suit, and the brown-haired duo lagging behind near the end. Their second class, if the Rabbit-Faunus could correctly recall, was-

"What class do we have now?" Ruby suddenly asked,

Yang turned around and flashed her sister a cheeky grin, " _Hiss_ -tory!" Velvet then heard as Blake giggled at that.

 _Good lord._

In response, Ruby simply rolled her eyes and muttered a small 'thanks.' Weiss and Coco, on the other hand, groaned dramatically at the pun. Velvet, similarly to Ruby, just stared at the blonde with indifference. The past decade or so spent with Yang had caused the Rabbit-Faunus to become desensitized to her ridiculous puns.

After a couple of moments of silence, Velvet's ears abruptly twitched when Ruby decided to strike up a conversation with a certain Schnee.

"Jeez, I'm sorry if Yang's driving you nuts."

"I've only had the desire to throw myself down a flight of stairs about twice since she's started making those puns." Weiss stated dryly, "but other than that, it's okay."

Ruby chuckled at that, "Try _living_ with her."

Weiss paused for a moment at the thought, and then she shook her head vigorously. "I don't know how you do it."

The redhead smiled, and then rubbed the back of her head. "Getting out of the house to study at a local library was a great coping mechanism that I used..."

The former heiress merely nodded at that fact, and it _seemed_ like their conversation was going to enter a silent lull. Velvet noted, however, that Ruby began to squirm; which usually meant that the girl wanted to ask someone for a favour. Ruby then took in a deep breath, and let it out.

"E-Erm... well, since we're on the topic of studying at libraries..." Ruby began. Weiss turned her head towards the redhead, and quirked an eyebrow.

"D-D-Do you want to help me study for our midterms?" Ruby squeaked, rather than asked. "They're coming up in like three weeks, and I'm having some trouble grasping at the content of Professor Port's Dust Studies class..." Weiss turned her head towards the front of their group, and simply remained silent at the younger girl's proposition. The Rabbit-Faunus couldn't exactly see the girl's face; so she really couldn't get a feel for the interaction.

This caused Ruby to panic, and Velvet watched as the girl began to frantically wave her arms, "I-I mean-! If you're too busy then I totally understand; your like, essentially our entire grade's representative and you probably have a lot on your plate so helping me study would probably add to that, and maybe Professor Port's lectures confuse you too because he _totally_ goes off on irrelevant tangents about his days at Beacon so I wouldn't blame you. AND, and, a-and-!"

" _Ruby_."

"Eep!"

Weiss turned to the girl, and gave her a small smile, "Of course, I'll help you study."

Ruby beamed at the former heiress, "Great! It's a date, then! Thanks Weiss, you're the best." In response, the white-haired girl turned her head to the side and flushed, "D-Dolt... it's not that big a deal."

Velvet simply shook her head at the two girls antics.

 _They're both so hopelessly adorable_.

However, the Rabbit-Faunus then tilted her head to the side when she had a certain thought. Coco seemed to share that very thought, and she leaned towards the Rabbit-Faunus' right side, "isn't Ruby here on an _academic_ scholarship?" the fashionista asked in a low voice.

Velvet smirked, "Yes. Yes she is..."

"Sooo she-?"

"She probably doesn't need any help at all.." the Rabbit-Faunus finished.

She then went to look at Yang, who subtly turned her head to the side to give the Rabbit-Faunus a sidelong, knowing glance. It would seem that she also heard her little sister's proposition, judging by the amused smile that she was offering her at the moment. Velvet then shook her head again for a whole new reason.

 _Ruby's a lot more cunning than we give her credit for, I guess._

The chuckling of the fashionista to her right jolted her back to reality, and she decided to joined in too. After their little episode, they continued on their trek to their _hiss_ tory class in amicable silence. Well, that was until the Rabbit-Faunus promptly remembered something.

"Oh! Speaking of dates..." Velvet suddenly chimed, quietly enough for just the fashionista to hear. The said fashionista's eyes widened at the sudden change in topic, and she began to blush profusely at what Velvet was geting at, "U-Uh, W-what..?"

Velvet giggled.

 _Cute..._

 _"_ I'm actually free on Friday. So if you want to have dinner during the evening then, it's totally fine with me."

The Rabbit-Faunus felt a smile form on her face when she saw how much the brown-haired girl perked up to her words. A sense of confidence seeped into Velvet when she noticed that she was the only one who seemed to have this effect on the fashionista.

"Y-Yeah! That works perfectly for me!"

Velvet chuckled, "So what do you have planned?"

Coco paled, "U-Uh, I-I.. Well-!"

The Rabbit-Faunus smiled at the brown-haired girl's adorable reaction. Then she hummed in contemplation. She wasn't exactly in the mood for going out for dinner; but that was only because she was tight on cash. Suddenly, an idea popped up into her mind and she perked up towards the girl beside her. "Why don't we just have dinner at my place then? I'll cook for you! I'll send you the details of where I live on your scroll."

A blush returned to the fashionista's face, but Velvet's suggestion calmed her down considerably, "Alright. Dinner at your place it is."

Velvet flashed Coco a brilliant smile.

"It's a date."

* * *

 **WhiteRose Study Date and Crosshares Dinner Date Ensues! Also, brace yourselves for more _punny_ Bumblebee flirtyness xD This chapter was pretty fun to write! I'm going to try to make the next chapters more 'couples-focused'! I hope you guys are still enjoying the story :D**

 **Have a great week :P**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Let me just leave this chapter right here for y'all.**

 **hehehe Enjoy!**

* * *

Yang watched in irritation as Blake continued to speak amicably with a certain Chameleon-Faunus near the front of their _Hiss_ tory lecture hall. Apparently, Ilia was at a gymnastics orientation-meet during their first period. The blonde herself had to attend one of those sports-related orientations to get familiarized with her selected scholarship program too. So she was familiar with the whole process.

However, she didn't exactly anticipate that Ilia would be back so quickly. Yang remembered that her own orientation went for the entire duration of her first two periods. So bumping into an expectant Ilia, at the front of their lecture hall, was something that caught her by surprise (in a rather unpleasant way). As soon as the Chameleon-Faunus caught sight of Blake, she immediately went into action.

She mentioned something about a new sequel to some book called ' _Ninja's of love'_ ; which effectively got the Cat-Faunus' attention.

"That's quite the frown you've got there, Yang."

Yang rolled her eyes, "Don't you have a sports meet to go to, Pyrrha?"

The tall redhead playfully nudged the blonde's side, "Well I'm happy to see you too, sweety!"

"Likewise," Yang droned.

The blonde then jumped at the sudden laughter of a certain _monkey_ -Faunus. She abruptly turned around, and gave the eavesdropping boy an annoyed look. He was currently leaning his head into his right hand, and giving the blonde girl an expression of unadulterated mirth.

"Jeez, Yang. Do you need to spend some time with a certain kitty cat to lighten your mood?" the Faunus boy playfully teased. The fiery blonde inwardly groaned at the fact that he knew about her whole predicament with liking Blake. Well, basically the entire kickboxing team freaking knew because a certain redheaded Amazonian _blabbed_ about it in the locker room... 'accidentally.'

 _Or so she fucking says..._

Yang crossed her arms and scoffed, "Screw off, Sun." The blonde Faunus simply laughed at the girl's reaction, and Pyrrha joined in.

"What happened to being more straightforward with Bla-mmf!" Yang swiftly shoved her hand onto the Amazonian's mouth to stop her from finishing her sentence. She then frantically looked around the lecture hall to see if anyone had heard her. Thankfully, it seemed like the people around them were preoccupied with either the actual lesson, or their own devices.

Her sister and Weiss were sitting relatively close to the front of the class, and seemed pretty invested in what professor Oobleck was saying. She then turned her head around to glance briefly at the brown-haired duo. They were sitting at the far side of the lecture hall, near the back. She let out a breath of relief when she saw that they were more, or less so (on Coco's part), paying attention to the lesson too. She then turned back around to her redheaded assailant.

"I don't think the people in the back heard you clearly enough!" Yang sarcastically hissed. She could feel that Pyrrha was smiling from behind her hand, and she removed it out of exasperation from the girl's teasing.

"Well, I don't think using Cat puns as a form of flirtation is exactly 'straightforward,' but the tactic _seems_ to be working out for you... miraculously." Pyrrha mused, completely ignoring Yang's comment about the volume of her voice.

"Which says a lot!" Sun suddenly chimed in, "I remember I tried to crack a few cat puns with her back in middle school, and she almost fought me!"

"I think I remember that too!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "Yeah! and that was _right_ _after_ she got into that one fist fight with Cinder about Faunus' rights! You're timing was pretty bad there, Sun.."

"Hey! I thought it'd be cool with her if I made those jokes since I'm a Faunus too, but apparently that wasn't the case!"

"I'd hate to interrupt you two from going down memory lane, but how is this helping? Like at all?" the blonde suddenly chimed in. A part of her was enjoying herself while she learned a bit about Blake's apparent 'spunk.' However, another part of her was slightly jealous that they knew a side of the Cat-Faunus that she apparently did not.

Pyrrha playfully rolled her eyes at the blonde, and then entered a trance of contemplation. Yang simply waited until the girl gathered her thoughts, but then was jolted by surprise when she suddenly perked up.

"Isn't an Athletic's banquet happening on Friday?"

Yang widened her eyes in horror at the girl's insinuation, "N-No... there's no way I'm asking her to _that_. It's a known fact that the date's the athletes bring are basically their legit girlfriend's or boyfriend's! So I don't want to send out that kind of message when I'm _barely_ even Blake's friend."

The tall redhead giggled at that, "Well, doesn't your _endgame_ involve actually being Blake's girlfriend?"

The blonde blushed at the girls question, and scoffed unconvincingly.

"Awwww! I didn't think that Yang would ever be this hung up on a girl!" Sun abruptly gushed.

Yang whipped her head around, and gave the boy a baleful look. However, before she could even make a retort to his unnecessary comment, the sound of the school bell had rung across the lecture hall. She then heard professor Oobleck quickly remind the students about the History midterm that they were going to have in a week or two, and she watched as he zoomed out of the lecture hall's doors. Her gaze then made its way to a certain Cat-Faunus, and she could feel the frown forming on her face again when she saw that the girl flashed Ilia a friendly smile.

"Well... since I know that _you're_ not going to make the first move..." Pyrrha began as she raised her arm. Yang watched with exasperated horror as the girl then began to wave at the Cat-Faunus, "Hey Blake!"

The said Cat-Faunus turned her head towards the tall redhead's voice, and adorably tilted her head in confusion while pointing at herself. Pyrrha confirmed that it was her calling the dark-haired girl over by giving her a friendly nod.

"Yang needs to talk to you for a minute! She's got a question for you!"

Yang immediately went to punch Pyrrha from under the table, but the redhead easily blocked it with her forearm. " _Pyrrha, what the hell?! Why did you_ _specify that I wanted to ask her a question!_ " the blonde hissed under her breath.

Pyrrha smiled, "So you wouldn't weasel your way out of it by generalizing the entire conversation. I _know_ you, Yang." The blonde rolled her eyes at that; mostly because it was freaking true. She then turned her head to stare at the Cat-Faunus again, who was already making her way towards kick-boxing trio. Her eyes trailed off towards the sway of the Cat-Faunus' hips, and she actively _forced_ herself to stop checking the girl out. It was embarrassing enough that the dark-haired girl had caught her basically ogling her breasts during their Dust Studies lecture. She would rather not have it happen again.

 _God, why the hell does she look so damn good... especially today?!_

"Oooh... this is going to be _great_." Sun suddenly commented.

The yellow-haired girl whipped her head around, and growled. " _Sun, you stupid son of a bit-_ "

"Uh, Hey."

Yang choked on air, and abruptly entered a small coughing-fit in surprise of the Faunus girl's sudden presence. She balled up her right, prosthetic hand into a fist, and then began to beat at her chest lightly to alleviate her lungs. When her little episode was over, she chanced a glance at Blake; who was quirking a concerned eyebrow at her.

 _Smooth, Yang._

" _Smooth, Yang_." the Amazonian girl audibly repeated under her breath. The blonde kicked her shin from under the desk, but it didn't seem to faze the redhead at all.

"A-Are you alright, Yang?" Blake asked, with worry laced into her voice.

"Yu- _Ahem!_ Heh, Yup!" Then it was silent for a couple of moments; because Yang stubbornly refused to carry on the conversation.

Blake coughed, "Uh, Well... Pyrrha said that you wanted to ask me something...?"

"Oh riiight, that..." the blonde trailed off, while briefly concentrating a death glare towards the Amazonian girl next to her.

She then scratched her head awkwardly, and began to stare at everything _but_ the Cat-Faunus before her. In doing so, she noticed that Ilia was still at front of the room; and gazing right back at her. Yang's eyes widened marginally in surprise, but then she furrowed her brows when she saw that the girl smirked at her. She then watched as the Chameleon-Faunus stood up, and slowly made her ways towards their little group.

" _It's now or never, Yang!_ " Sun whispered.

Yang grunted at the boy's quiet prompt, which earned a confused look from Blake. She then cleared her throat, "Uh- aheh! Well... I-I was wondering i-if..." the girl stammered on. She inwardly punched her self in the face. She usually wasn't this much of a _loser_ when it came to going after the girls that she liked. That was more Ruby's thing! However, Blake was freaking _different_ for some reason. Oh God, especially _today_.

She could just rip off that white blouse and-!

"Yang?"

"Buh..uh, wha?"

She then heard her two kick-boxing teammates snickering, and saw that the Faunus girl had a little blush adorning her cheeks. She then inwardly groaned when she _knew_ that she had unintentionally checked out Blake's... assets yet again. Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to wallow in self pity, as she noted that Ilia was getting relatively close to their general vicinity.

"A-As I was _saying_... E-erm, would you-!" her voice caught in her throat.

 _God dammit, Yang! Just do it! Be straightforward!_

"Heh, would you like to..." She took in a deep breath, and then slowly let it out.

 _Go Go Go Go Gooooooooo-_

"Will you go to the _Cat-_ thletics banquet with me on Friday?"

- _oooooooh my GOD._

" _Why are you like this?!"_ Pyrrha muttered under her breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Sun, on the other hand, was openly guffawing at Yang's choice of words at that point.

The blonde girl immediately felt the repercussions of her dorky inquiry in the form of a warm flush that engulfed the entirety of her face. She then faked a cough, to try and cover her embarrassment; but she knew deep down that the damage had been done, and it was pretty obvious that she looked like a blubbering fool.

"W-Wait-! You don't need to answer tha-!"

"Sure."

Yang did a comically dramatic double take. "Wait, what." she deadpanned.

Blake flashed her a smile, "I'll go to the Athletics Banquet with you, Yang."

"Oh..." the blonde lamely responded. Her eyes then widened in realization, "O-OH! oh okay! Great!"

Blake giggled at her antics.

"Sooo... I'll pick you up at around 7:30 on Friday, then?"

The Faunus girl nodded, "that works for me- Oh, hey Ilia."

Yang turned her gaze towards the Chameleon-Faunus, who finally made it to their group. She saw that the girl initially had an unreadable expression on her face as she listened to the last part of their conversation. But then she masked it with an expression of friendliness.

"Hey, B."

Blake playfully rolled her eyes at the nickname, "Did you want something?"

Ilia laughed, "Oh, it's not important anymore..." she then fixed her gaze on Yang, "I was _just_ beat to it."

Blake simply gave the girl a confused expression, whereas Yang hardened hers; to show the Chameleon-Faunus that she wasn't going to back down. Ilia seemed to have caught onto the message, and smirked yet again at the blonde.

"I'll see you guys later, then." She turned around and walked away, but not without giving Blake a flirty smile.

Blake shrugged, "I'll see you at lunch, then!" Yang didn't know if she directed that towards the Chameleon-Faunus or herself; as she was staring right at Yang while she was talking. The Cat-Faunus then gave the blonde a parting wave of goodbye, and walked down the lecture hall towards the other two of her trio. She briefly noted the amused smiles that they were giving the dark-haired girl, and observed as Blake playfully smacked Coco in response to some remark that she made.

The blonde's eyes then scanned the room for her other counterparts, and found Ruby and Coco speaking with T.A Arslan at the front of the lecture hall. Yang figured they were asking her about the content that they'd have to focus on for the upcoming midterm.

"I _cannot_ believe that actually worked out for you."

Yang gave the baffled redhead a shrug. Honestly, she couldn't believe that it worked out for her too. She then turned her head towards her kick-boxing teammates, and was met with a stupefied Sun. He currently had his jaw dropped in utter disbelief, and seemed to have entered some kind of dazed void.

The blonde girl smirked devilishly,

"At least it wasn't a _Cat-_ astrophe!"

Pyrrha and Sun groaned.

* * *

Summer listened on with exasperated mirth as her eldest daughter recounted the events of her day. Her wife was currently suffering from a laugh-attack beside her at the dinner table; and the hyperactive woman was actually kind of concerned that Raven was going to choke on her food. Their younger daughter, on the other hand, groaned at the blonde's story in second-hand embarrassment.

"I can't believe that Blake said _Yes_!" Ruby exclaimed in disbelief.

Yang shrugged nonchalantly, "What can I say? I'm a _Cat_ -sanova!" She then wiggled her eyes suggestively, and even Summer groaned at the joke.

"Agh-! Just for that, _you're_ on dishwashing duty tonight, Yang." Summer stated. Her blonde daughter dramatically clutched her heart in response, "You have the gall to _punish_ me on this fine hour of celebration!?"

The hyperactive woman playfully rolled her eyes, "Yang..."

The girl simply perked up, and giggled. She then went over to kiss Summer on the cheek, "Just kidding!" The woman watched as the blonde girl swiftly grabbed the plates from the dinner table, and walked into the kitchen area.

"You totally just dumped your dishwashing turn on Yang."

Summer smacked Raven's arm, "I did _no_ such thing!"

"Mom, you totally did." Ruby remarked.

 _Okay, maybe I did_. But the redheaded woman wasn't going to admit that out loud. She then stuck a tongue out at her wife, who playfully rolled her eyes, "Real mature, Sum."

"Oh don't act as if _you_ don't dump your responsibilities on our children, too!"

Raven quirked a brow at the accusation, and leaned her head into her right hand with a smile, "enlighten me, babe."

Summer smirked at the dark-haired woman's comfortable aura; as she was about to throw her under the bus!

"Well... there was a couple of days ago, when you dumped your shift at the weapons shop on Ru-mmf!" Raven swiftly covered her mouth in panic. She then watched as the woman communicated with her eyes that she _got the point_. Summer, however, was feeling petty and promptly removed Raven's hand from her face.

She then turned to her kid, and smiled sweetly. "You remember when Ma told you to take over her shift on Sunday?"

Ruby tilted her head to the side, "Yeah! she said that she was called in to help an aspiring pro kick-boxer train at the Nikos' training institute... _why_?" Summer noted the suspicious tone that entered her child's voice. She then turned to her wife, who was darting her eyes all over the place in guilt.

Summer smirked, "Well, there was no such kick-boxer, and your Ma just went to take a nap."

Ruby then dramatically slammed her hands on the table, and pointed an accusatory finger at Raven, "Ma... how _could you_?!"

"W-What?! I was _tired!_ "

"So was I! I literally spent hours re-organizing the stupid history section of your old school's freakishly large library! I wanted to take a nap, too! I also had readings to study right after. So I had to do all of them quickly after my shift!"

Raven simply offered their child an apologetic smile. But then, Summer jumped slightly when Yang popped her head out of the kitchen to chime in, "If we're on the topic of _studying_... our dear little Rubes here has a Study Date with Weiss!"

Ruby growled, "YANG!"

"Oh does she now?" Summer inquired with amusement. At this sudden change of topic, Ruby began to sink into her dining chair in embarrassment. And the redheaded woman thought it was absolutely adorable.

"Y-Yeah, well... s-she's just going to come over and help me with our Dust Studies class on Friday... S-so I was wondering if that was okay..?"

Summer gave her child a confused look. _Dust Studies...?_ That was basically the girl's specialty. She knew the topic inside, and out; especially on a molecular level. She imagined that analyzing the topic of Dust through a sociopolitical viewpoint wouldn't be _that hard_ for the girl. So why would she-?

 _Oh._

 _Ohhhhh!_

Summer glanced at her wife, who was also giving her a knowing look. She then turned to face her daughter again, who was bashfully fidgeting under their gaze.

"Oh that's fine, sweety! Rae and I will take over the shop on Friday, and you can have the house _all_ to yourself!"

Ruby beamed at her, "Awesome tha-!"

"Just make sure you two aren't _too loud_... the walls are thin in this house." Raven teased.

Ruby gawked at her, "M-Ma!?" Suddenly, both Summer and Yang were engulfed in a fit of giggles.

"Raven!"

"Nice one, Ma!"

Ruby simply shoved her head into her hands to hide the blush that encompassed her entire face. Shortly after, Summer playfully shoved her wife. Her said wife sighed, and ruffled their redhead daughter's hair, "But in all seriousness, it's totally fine that Weiss comes over, Rubes."

Despite the teasing, the girl smiled at the woman, "Thanks, Ma."

Their little conversation then entered a comfortable, silent lull; with the sound of running water playing in the background. Summer suddenly heard Yang shut the tap off, and assumed that she was done with the task of washing the dishes.

"Sooo... just to be _clear_..." their yellow-haired daughter began as she made her way back into the dining room. Summer then noted that the the girl stared at her little sister in mock-seriousness.

"My room is _off limits_."

Ruby quirked an eyebrow at that, " _Why_ would I study in your-..." the dawn of realization of what Yang was implying suddenly hit her, and Summer watched as the girl's face immediately reddened yet again.

"Y-YANG!"

Yang laughed like a maniac, and Summer shook her head as Ruby began chasing her older sister down. She then stood up, and went to wrap her arms around Raven's shoulders from behind. The dark-haired woman instantly leaned into her embrace, and Summer noted how her wife took in a deep breath. She inwardly smiled at the action, as she knew Raven loved letting her know that she loved her scent. Apparently she smelled of roses.

"Your children are fighting, again."

" _Our_ children." Raven corrected as she nuzzled against Summer's left cheek.

Summer playfully rolled her eyes,

"Right."

* * *

"There's _no way_ that's right!" Kali disbelievingly challenged as she heartily laughed.

She and the girls were currently lounging in the living room, with Weiss briefing her about the events of their day. It would seem that her daughter didn't inherit her ability to casually flirt _at all;_ judging by the way Weiss was explaining what happened. She then inwardly laughed.

 _Well... Ghira was a bit of a dork too._

"I was _totally_ giving Yang a flirty smirk!"

Weiss abruptly guffawed at that statement, "Blake, you were giving her one of the most awkward, closed-mouth smiles I have _ever_ seen!"

"I was not!"

"You were too!"

Blake groaned, "Aggh! Well, at least it _worked_! I've got a da-ahem!" Kali quirked an eyebrow at the last part that her daughter tried to hide with a cough. She then smiled sweetly at the girl.

"Blake, my dear... if I weren't mistaken, it almost sounded like you were going to say that you've got a _date_?"

"Oh she most definitely does." Weiss confirmed. "And if I can recall correctly, from what Blake here told me... it's a date to a _Cat_ -thletics Banqu-mmf!" Kali watched in amusement as her daughter shoved one of the couch pillows onto Weiss' face.

"Ooooh she's taking you to an athletics banquet?" the Faunus woman gushed, "good for you, Blake!"

Blake simply blushed at her congratulatory acknowledgement, "Uh... thanks, mom."

"So when is it?" Kali continued to pry.

"Friday night."

The Belladonna woman hummed, "Oh, that means Weiss will all be alone because I've got to attend a meeting in Vale that day! It might run late..."

Kali was going to attend a small conference meeting to further discuss the possibility of expanding her organization to Atlas. She was really close to achieving this goal, but she still had to charm her way into convincing a bunch of conservative, old farts about the benefits of what she was trying to do.

 _One would think common decency and a sense of humanity would be enough explanation, but apparently it is not._

She then snapped back to the conversation at hand, and turned her head towards the white-haired girl, "are you going to be okay with that, hun? Your sister is also going to be gone that day too; she didn't really tell me what she was doing but I imagine that it's important."

Weiss waved dismissively at her, "O-Oh, it's fine Kali I'll be-"

"She'll be at _Ruby's,_ 'Studyi'-gah!" It was Weiss' turn to shove a pillow into Blake's face. The Faunus woman then offered the former heiress an inquiring look of her own, and the girl laughed awkwardly.

"W-Well, yeah. I'm going to be at the Rose-Branwen's on Friday to help Ruby study." the girl explained with a small blush adorning her cheeks. Kali simply smiled at the girl, "Oh so you've got a _Study Date_?"

Blake laughed at that, "Well... I don't think that a lot of 'studying' is actually going to be happening."

"B-Blake!"

Kali laughed at the girls antics.

* * *

Velvet rolled her eyes at Yatsuhashi's antics.

She had _just_ informed Junior that she was going to have Coco over on Friday, and wanted to ask if that was okay; seeing that she lived right above the pub. Unfortunately, Yatsu had heard the entire conversation, and took it upon himself to tease her relentlessly about the whole ordeal.

"Oooh do you think that you're going to hit second base with Coco?"

Velvet smacked the tall boy's arm, which effectively ended up hurting _her_ rather than him.

 _Is his freaking arm made of bricks, what the heck?!_

"Y-Yatsu!"

"Oi! Kid, that's enough! Get back to work!" Junior hollered. In response, Yatsuhashi simply raised his arms in defence but not without giving Velvet a shit-eating grin before turning around. He then walked away, back into the kitchen where he belonged.

"And Velv, it's fine if your friend Coco comes over," Junior added softly. "Just, erm... don't be too loud."

Velvet immediately blushed at the insinuation that she thought the man had made, "W-We're _not_ going to be doing anything like-!"

"R-Rabbit!" the gruff man interrupted, with a red tint forming on his cheeks too, "T-That's not what I _meant!_ "

The Rabbit-Faunus then flushed for a whole new reason. She was so used to people teasing her in such a way that she totally forgot that there were adults who actually respected her enough not to do so. She coughed, "Ahem... R-Right. I'm sorry for the misinterpretation." In response, the tall man ruffled the top of her head, and went off to attend to the bar.

She smiled gratefully at the man's receding form. She owed a lot to Junior, and was quite fond of him. Despite his gruff demeanour, the man was a huge teddy bear at heart who cared deeply about the people around him. He had a soft spot for Velvet, and she knew it. She was also incredibly grateful that the man essentially gave her a living space for free. All she had to do was work at the pub every so often, and pay for her own food (when she could).

Raven and Summer had offered her their home, but she politely declined. They've done so much for her during the past decade. If it weren't for them, she wouldn't even _be_ in Vale attending a world-renown educational institution. She wanted to at least carry some of her own weight. However, that didn't stop the Rose-Branwen's from keeping the offer open-ended. Velvet was also grateful for that, but she felt like she wasn't going to take them up on that offer any time soon. She had a pretty good set up at The _Red Reaper's_.

She then continued to think about what she had planned for Coco. She would have asked Yatsu if he could whip something up for them, but she didn't trust him after that stupid stunt he pulled with her Veggie Plate. As a result, Velvet decided to making their dinner herself; she knew that she was a good enough cook to do so. She just didn't know what to make; hell, she didn't even know what kind of foods Coco liked.

"Well... she did seem to like the Veggie Plate." Velvet mused out loud.

The Rabbit-Faunus sighed.

 _Friday's going to be... interesting._

* * *

 **Whoop Whoop! The next couple of chapters are going to concentrate on each of the dates! So be prepared my dear readers. LOL I hope y'all are still enjoying it :D**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Velvet and Coco date, BEGIN!**

* * *

Coco fidgeted nervously as she followed the directions that her Scroll insisted was the way to Velvet's home. The brown-haired girl was currently walking down a familiar-looking, inner-city area in downtown Vale; at around 6:30 in the evening. The sun was offering the world it's last rays of light, and the streetlights were beginning to flicker on. She noticed that the ambient lighting emitted from the marketplace and other small, outdoor vendings really made Vale's nightlife come alive. Soft lights of neon were emanated at her periphery, and the faint sound of street music could be heard; idly playing. There were still a number of people out and about, but none of them seemed threatening at all. So the fashionista wasn't too worried about being jumped or anything.

The girl inhaled deeply, and exhaled; in doing so, she caught the scent of Menagerian-styled noodles wafting through the air from one of the food stands she was walking by.

Coco smiled. _I wonder what kind of food Velvet made for dinner..._

The fashionista wasn't going to deny the fact that she had been absolutely giddy from the thought of going on a date with Velvet. Unfortunately, the past couple of days went by painstakingly _slowly_. Coco was almost motivated enough to create some kind of time machine so that Friday would come by sooner. Seriously, at a point during the week she entertained the thought of a conceptual, dust-fueled machine that could transport live matter through the plane of time and space with Ruby. However, when Ruby asked her why she was interested in the topic of time travel, the fashionista swiftly ended the discussion.

Suddenly, a small gust of wind flew by the brown-haired girl, and she was glad that she decided to dress a little warmer for the night. She was currently sporting a black, leather jacket with a plain white tank top. Wrapped around her neck was a simple, brown scarf. She was also wearing a pair of dark, denim jeans to top off the outfit. She decided to dress a little bit more casually, since they were only going to be staying inside for their date.

" _In 5 metres, turn right_."

Coco quirked an eyebrow at her Scroll's demand. She continued to follow the directions apprehensively, but when she finally made it to the junction where it wanted her to turn, she almost laughed disbelievingly. There she stood, at the end of a rather dirty cobblestone path; staring at a familiar, flickering red ' _R._ ' She slowly began to make her way towards the quaint pub, and she wondered in the back of her mind if Velvet accidentally gave her the wrong address.

"Oh, Hey! Coco, right?" a sudden, deep voice questioned from behind.

The brown-haired girl jumped slightly from the abrupt intrusion, but then she composed herself once again and turned around to address the boy behind her. When she did so, she was met with the sight of the large line-cook that worked with Velvet at the _Red Reaper's_. If Coco could recall correctly, the boy's name was Yatsu... something-or-other. He was currently towering over her, with a friendly and amused smile plastered on his face.

She returned that smile; albeit a little more awkwardly, "Umm.. yeah, and you are...?"

The massive boy grinned. "Yatsuhashi!"

"Well... it's a pleasure to meet you, Yatsuhashi." Coco greeted as she resumed walking towards the pub's entrance. Yatsuhashi followed, and continued to emanate a friendly demeanour.

"Likewise, Coc-AGH!"

Coco then watched with a mixture of horror and amusement when yet another bar stool had been flung towards her general direction. However, this particular attack was aimed specifically at the tall boy next to her; who just narrowly dodged it. She continued to observe as the stool hit the cobblestone path with a harsh _smash!_ while scattering on impact. She then turned her head to see who threw the object, but was caught off guard when she saw that it had been Velvet. And, to the Rabbit-Faunus' side, the bar owner Junior was leaning against the entrance with an amused, and almost _prideful_ expression on his face.

"What did you say to her, Yatsu!?"

Yatsuhashi raised his arms up in exasperation, "nothing to call for the throwing of barstools! JEEZ, Velv... you really could've hurt me there!"

Velvet scoffed and crossed her arms, "Yatsu, you're like a brick wall. That barstool would have felt like a light slap for you."

In response, Yatsuhashi simply gaped disbelievingly at the small Rabbit-Faunus before them. And even Coco cracked a little smile at how ridiculous the brown-haired Faunus sounded at the moment. Sure, the boy seemed built like a freaking brick wall, but the fashionista was pretty sure that it would still hurt if a wooden stool had hit him; especially at the speed the Faunus girl was throwing it at.

"Alright, cut it out kids!" Junior suddenly interjected, with a small smile. "Get to work, Yatsu."

Yatsuhashi mock-saluted towards the man as he entered the pub. "Aye aye, Capitain!" Junior rolled his eyes, and playfully ruffled the boys hair. He then turned to both Coco and Velvet, "Er... have a good evening, ladies."

Velvet beamed at the gruff man, "Will do, Junior! Have a great shift!"

"Heh, thanks kid." and with that, the man left to tend to his pub.

The two girls simply stood there in silence for a couple of moments. But during that time, Coco had opted to discreetly check out the Rabbit-Faunus, and a small blush began to form on her face. Even though Velvet was dressed casually too, Coco still felt that the girl looked absolutely _amazing_. The brown-haired Faunus was currently leaning against the pub's entrance, wearing a simple black tank top with a pair of dark-blue denim pants, which she rolled up to her ankles. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and Coco appreciated the way the hairstyle exposed the girl's shoulders/neck. She had her arms crossed with her head turned to the side, and was staring both fondly and exasperatedly at the two men that just walked into the pub.

The girl then slowly turned her head back towards Coco, and she gave the fashionista an embarrassed smile.

"I'm sorry if they made you feel uncomfortable, Coco." Velvet stated as she rubbed the back of her head nervously.

The fashionista simply smirked at the Faunus girl. "They didn't do anything like that at all!" She then let out a small laugh, "I'm starting to get the vibe that Junior's one of those 'mean-looking but kindhearted' types, y'know?"

"that's exactly what he is!" the Faunus girl beamed, "when you get to know him, he's actually a sweet guy! But- _ahem_! e-enough about him..." Velvet coughed, "lets head back to my place. Dinner's _almost_ done, and I'm pretty sure that you should be hungry right about now."

Coco smiled at the thought of eating Velvet's food, "Alright! Lead the way."

Suddenly, the Faunus girl gently grabbed hold of her hand, and Coco could feel a familiar warmth engulf her cheeks.

Velvet chuckled at her reaction, and then gave her a warm smile, "follow me."

Coco wordlessly complied with the Faunus girl's request, and followed the girl as she guided her into the pub. When they walked in, Coco noticed that it was more, or less so, the same as the last time she was there. There were a good number of people situated in various tables throughout the pub; and the servers were buzzing about, trying to efficiently get everybody's orders. The lights were dim, with the exception of the bar at the far side of the restaurant; it's blue neon lighting and large TV were rather eye catching.

When they walked by a familiar part of the pub, Coco stared up towards the ceiling to see the damage they had done a couple of weeks ago. She let out a small, embarrassed smile when she saw they completely removed the wooden beam that was above their old tables. The fashionista figured that it had burned beyond repair; but she was also completely surprised that they weren't billed for ruining it.

"Heh... Yeah, Junior wasn't happy _at all_ about that night."

Coco giggled, "I imagine that he wouldn't be."

"It's a good thing that the beam wasn't supportive for the ceiling; then that would've been a problem..."

"Y-Yeah... good thing," Coco repeated, but more nervously. However, before she could imagine herself being bludgeoned to death by the apparent 'gentle giant' that was Junior, Velvet had abruptly changed the course of their direction. This effectively took the fashionista by surprise, and she stumbled a little on her feet. Thankfully, she caught herself before the Faunus girl could notice that she tripped.

The area of the pub where Velvet took her was rather dimly lit. She then looked up and saw that they were in front of a wooden door that said 'employees only' on it. Coco quirked an eyebrow, but then Velvet answered the unsaid question that was on the tip of the fashionista's tongue.

"This is the door that leads to the employees locker room and living quarters - ah! Not to say that I live in a changing room!" Velvet quickly corrected, "There's another stairway to the right that leads to-! agh, never mind, let me just show you instead..." The girl then swiftly opened the door before them, and gestured for Coco to walk in. The fashionista smiled at the girl's temporarily flustered behaviour, and she entered the coveted 'employees only area.'

When she walked into the room, the fashionista was immediately met with darkness, and she could vaguely make out the outlines of the lockers that held the employees belongings. Coco then remembered that Velvet mentioned something about a stairway on the right side of the room, and she promptly turned her head to look for it. Suddenly, the brown-haired girl squinted her eyes when the lights were abruptly turned on. When Velvet did this, the entrance to the stairway she was talking about became easily visible.

"Yeah, just go up the stairs right there, and the last door on the left is where my flat is."

Coco silently nodded in response to the girl's words, and continued to follow her directions. When she climbed the staircase, she quietly noted the way in which the stairs would _creak!_ whenever she stepped on them. Her nose instantly felt stuffed as a result of the dust that flowed throughout the small stairway, and she could spot a couple of cobwebs near the corners of the ceiling. As she walked upwards, the fashionista was actually a little scared that the staircase would give out from underneath her; especially with how old it seemed.

When she finally reached the top, she suddenly felt the sensation of a hand gently grabbing her waist. She froze at the contact, but then felt that the Rabbit-Faunus was just moving her over to the side.

"Sorry... I've got to unlock the door for you." Coco visibly shivered when she felt the girl's breath at the back of her neck, and she instinctively went to cover it. She turned her head to face the Faunus girl, and cursed the blush that formed on her cheeks. The brown-haired girl laughed awkwardly, "I-uh, yeah! Of course! A-After you, Velv."

Velvet merely nodded and went ahead of the fashionista, but Coco could _swear_ that the girl was smirking as she walked by. Coco furrowed her eyebrows at that.

 _Is she just toying with me?!_ Before she could continue to dwell on the thought, Velvet cleared her throat. "Hey, Coco? You can come in now..."

Coco jumped slightly at the prompt, and inwardly groaned at how much of a _loser_ she was being at the moment. She began to briskly walk towards Velvet, who held the door to her apartment (?) open for her; Coco continued to walk in. She initially saw a small hallway, leading into Velvet's living room area. She noted that the girl's living quarters was rather small. The fashionista could make out that Velvet's home was in the style of a bachelor pad. She also found a door in the small hallway on the right, and assumed that it was a bathroom or closet of some sort.

She suddenly caught scent of something _delicious_ being cooked, and her stomach began to grumble.

"You can leave your shoes near the door or keep them on, if you want" Velvet informed her, "Oh, and dinner is almost ready so you can just wait in the living room!"

Coco merely nodded once again to the Rabbit-Faunus' suggestions, and went to take off her boots as Velvet walked by to tend to the food. She then turned around and walked deeper into the Rabbit-Faunus' home. She also noted that it was a pretty industrialized-styled living area; what with the brick walls around her, and the wooden beams hanging above the ceiling. It had a cute sense of modernism that Coco quite liked. However, once she actually made it into the actual 'living room' of the Faunus girl's home, she was actually taken aback at how _small_ it really was.

Directly to the right of the fashionista was Velvet, who was currently in what she believed was the kitchen area, tending to their dinner. The Faunus girl was stirring something in a pot on top of an iron stove. Coco figured that the sink was probably relatively close to it; judging by the dish rack that was situated next to Velvet on the counter. The fridge was in the far corner of the kitchen, at the end of the counter where the sink was.

Behind the brown-haired Faunus was a small countertop that separated the living room from the kitchen area. Coco saw a small picture frame resting atop the counter, and could see a photo inside of it. When she walked closer to the counter, she saw that it was a photo of Velvet's family. However, the Rabbit-Faunus was considerably younger in the picture; Coco guessed that the girl was probably about 10 years old when it was taken.

The fashionista began to smile at the endearing photo. The younger version of Velvet was perched on top of a brown-haired man's shoulders, who Coco assumed was her father, while she was laughing with unadulterated glee. Her father, on the other hand, looked a little bit distressed with how much Velvet was moving, and seemed to be scrambling to support his daughter better. She then noted with surprise that the man was devoid of any Faunus characteristics.

 _Her dad's a... human?_

Coco's eyes then trailed off Velvet's mother, and she mentally confirmed that the Faunus girl _definitely_ took after the woman in terms of looks. Velvet's mother had the same long, brown hair as Velvet and the exact same facial/Faunus characteristics as her too. The only difference between the two was the fact that her mother wore glasses.

Coco then furrowed her brows in thought, yet again.

 _Where are they?_

"You can make yourself comfortable on the couch, Coco!" Velvet suddenly chimed in. "Er... I don't exactly have a 'dinner table' per se, but there's a small coffee table that we can both eat on in front of the couch."

Coco's eyes whipped back towards the Faunus girl, and she smiled, "Sure thing, Velv." She then made her way towards the brown, worn-out couch in the living room and plopped herself down on it. The couch itself was surprisingly comfortable, and Coco wondered in the back of her mind if it was where Velvet had slept during the night. There didn't seem to be a bedroom anywhere in the girl's apartment.

As the girl continued to wait for Velvet to finish their dinner, she opted to take off her leather jacket while she took in her surroundings. The living room was quaint, but not too stuffy. There were a plethora of pictures plastered all over the brick walls. Coco could make out that they were pictures of various landscapes and still photos of random objects; there were also a couple of photos of Yang and Ruby thrown in there somewhere too. The fashionista also that one of the corners of the room held Velvet's camera stand, which also was holding her camera.

Behind the couch was a large window that overlooked a good portion of Vale City. There was a pair of worn out curtains hanging from the windows, but they were opened so that they could get a good look of the view.

"Alright... dinner's finally done!"

Coco then watched as the Faunus girl practically skipped her way towards her, with two plates of food in her hands. When she placed them on the coffee table, she saw that the girl had cooked Mistrali-styled, vegetable stir-fry with brown rice. Overall, it looked absolutely appealing to the brown-haired girl, and she was ready to devour it. Shortly after preparing the food, Velvet plopped herself down on the other side of the coffee table on the floor. Coco followed suit with the girl's actions and slid from the couch to the carpeted floor beneath her.

"Oh! You don't need to sit on the floor if you don't want to, Coco!" Velvet suddenly exclaimed, "I-It's kind of a force of habit, so I just sat down automatically."

"Don't worry about it, Velv. It's actually a lot more comfortable for my back if I sit this close to the table." Coco replied.

 _Well.. there's also the fact that I'm closer to you when we're both sitting like this..._

But the fashionista was never going to admit that out loud.

Velvet grinned at her,

"Well then... let's dig in!"

* * *

Velvet had to stifle a giggle at how hilariously engrossed Coco was in the horror movie that they were watching at the moment. After their dinner, the two girls decided to clean up after themselves, and they washed the dishes. The Faunus girl found out, with exasperated amusement, that the fashionista had _never_ washed a dish before in her entire life when they did so. The girl didn't even know what dish detergent was, and the concept of rinsing was something that completely eluded her.

However, when they finally finished the task, they were then presented with the dilemma of what to do next. That was when Velvet suggested that they watch something on her Scrollpad.

Surprisingly, the fashionista ended up choosing a horror movie.

Velvet was pretty neutral about the genre. She thought that most horror movie's had the same plot, and she didn't really care for the jump-scares that were in them. Coco, on the other hand, seemed excited at the prospect of watching one. So the Rabbit-Faunus complied with the girl's suggestion.

Suddenly, Velvet was jolted upright at the abrupt screaming that came from both her Scrollpad, and the cowering girl cuddled next to her. She instinctively held Coco closer, and felt the girl immediately relax into her side. The Faunus girl smiled. At a point during the movie, they both ended up entangled in each others arms and were lying comfortably on the couch. The Scrollpad was held upright by some books on the coffee table before them, and the screen was still easily visible from where they were lying down.

"Aww man, I really thought that they'd kill the psycho-killer in the end!" Coco whined. The sound of the ending credits could be faintly heard as the girl made her little complaint.

Velvet laughed, "I would have never pegged you for a horror-movie junkie."

It became quiet for a couple of moments after she made this nonchalant observation, but then Coco decided to pipe up.

"Y-Yeah, it all started when I stumbled onto my father's vintage, horror movie collection when I was like 10... I instantly fell in love with them and apparently he was a huge horror movie nerd too." Velvet's ears twitched when the girl mentioned one of her parents. Coco wasn't too keen on speaking about her mother, so the brown-haired Faunus was surprised that the girl had mentioned her father. She then resolved to inquire more about the topic. She really did want to get to know the girl better; why not start with her family background?

"Your father... What's he like?"

Coco sighed, "Other than the fact that he's a horror movie nerd, I have no idea."

 _Abort! Abort! Abort!_

Velvet mentally kicked herself in the face for asking about such a touchy topic. "I-I, oh my gosh, I'm sorry if the topic is a touchy one for you! I wasn't thinkin-!"

Coco laughed, "Velvet, it's _fine_. The subject of my father isn't exactly a _touchy_ one; I didn't get to know him well enough to formulate an actual opinion of him."

Regardless of the girl's intent to make Velvet feel better, the Rabbit-Faunus couldn't help but frown at her words. She kind of insinuated that her father may have walked out on her and her mother. However, with the way she fondly spoke about her father's movie collection, there seemed to be some kind of sentiment behind them.

"D-Do you mind if I asked more about him?" The brown-haired girl shifted in her arms, and Velvet began to panic. However, she then realized that the girl was just adjusting her position at her side and soon, Coco had her left leg latched over Velvet's thigh. Coco breathed in deeply, and then exhaled while nuzzling into the crook of the Faunus girl's neck.

"Okay, shoot."

Velvet gulped, "E-Er, w-what was his name?"

"His name is Maxwell" Velvet noted the present tense that Coco used to tell her this bit of information.

 _Maybe he's still around...?_

"Is he still... around?"

"If you're asking if he's still alive, then the answer is yes. However, he walked out on our family when I was really young," Coco responded. "I just don't know where he is... _nor_ do I care enough to actually find out."

" _Really_... you haven't been curious at least once?" Velvet didn't believe her. How _young_ was she when he left? She must have at least formed some kind of bond with the man while she was with him. The Rabbit-Faunus couldn't even imagine not knowing her own parent.

"Well, considering the fact I was only three years old when he left, I didn't exactly get to _know_ him, y'know?" Coco then laughed humourlessly, "One of the very, very, _very_ few things that Juliette has taught me is that first impressions mean everything... I didn't really get to process a legitimate 'first impression' of my father. So overall, I'm pretty neutral about the man."

"You don't call Juliette 'mother,'" Velvet suddenly blurted out.

At this abrupt change in topic, she felt that the girl in her arms temporarily became stiff. However, after a couple of moments, Coco let out a long sigh and relaxed back into the Faunus girl's side.

"That's because she barely is one."

Velvet hummed in response to the girl's statement. "So what would you describe her as?"

"...a financial provider, I guess...?" The Rabbit-Faunus inwardly frowned at Coco's words. She took a guess that the girl's relationship with her mother might have been strained, but she was completely wrong. Coco didn't even _have_ a relationship with her mother. And, considering the fact that Juliette was the owner of a multi-billion lien fashion corporation, Velvet imagined that the woman was barely home for Coco.

 _That must have been... lonely_.

"What about you?"

Velvet quirked an eyebrow at her question, "What?"

"Well, it's only fair that I ask you about your parents if you ask me about mine..." Coco began, "So what about your parents. What are their names? What are they like?"

The Rabbit-Faunus mentally shrugged at the sudden barrage of questions. It wasn't like the topic of her parents was a bad one; she just never got around to ever speaking about them with anybody. The only people that knew about her family situation were the Rose-Branwen's, and maybe Blake. She then quietly resolved that it was okay if Coco knew too.

Velvet smiled, "Their names were Kona and Valencia, and they were the best parents that anyone could've asked for."

"Sh-! I'm sorry, are they not...?"

"No, they're not." Velvet answered. The room was then filled with silence, but Velvet decided to break it. "They were there at the _Mistral Faunus_ _Movement_ when the bombs went off. You know, the one where Blake's father was assassinated?" Coco nodded, and the Faunus girl continued on, "They didn't make it out alive, along with the majority of my mother's side of the family. I was with my aunt from my father's side at the time. They thought it wouldn't be safe for me to come, and they were right. "

"After their funeral, the members of my father's side of the family struggled really hard to find a place to put me. They were all mostly estranged family members that I didn't know because they weren't exactly accepting of my mother's Faunus traits." she laughed, "yeah, they were basically racist bastards, if I'm going to be quite frank. They were really close to shipping me off to an orphanage in Menagerie, but this is where Ruby and Yang come in."

"I met them in school, shortly after the incident. When I nonchalantly told them about my situation, they gladly took me in after a couple of weeks of knowing me." Velvet smiled fondly, "they were actually going through a lot in their family too, but that didn't stop them from showing me their hospitality. I stayed with them for the rest of the time that we were in Mistral. And... I think you can get the gist of the rest."

"You all got into Beacon Academy, and moved to Vale?" Coco guessed.

"Yup. And I met Junior when I was applying for jobs. I wanted to help the Rose-Branwen's as much as I could, but then we got to know each other and he ended up offering me a living space for cheap! I owe a lot to him too..."

Coco simply let out a long, low whistle, "that's quite a life you've lived so far, Velv."

Velvet shrugged, "and I'm still living it!"

"That you are, Velv. T-That.. you.. a-are..." The Rabbit-Faunus quirked a confused eyebrow at the way in which Coco's voice had trailed off. She then felt the girl go limp in her arms, and Velvet suddenly had a feeling that the girl wasn't conscious anymore. She was then welcomed with the sound of the brown-haired girl's soft snoring, and her thoughts were confirmed.

 _Oh my God she fell asleep on me_...

Instead of trying to disentangle herself from the girl's arms, she decided to observe her as she slept. Coco had a small, smile on her face and continued to let out adorable, little snores. She looked extremely vulnerable at the moment, which was a stark contrast to the girl's usual 'headstrong' demeanour that Velvet had been accustomed to. She wasn't exactly as 'cold' as Weiss seemed to be, nor was she as 'standoffish' as Blake. If Velvet would describe it, Coco was more like... how did the girl put it earlier when she was describing Junior? 'mean-looking but kind-hearted.' Yeah, that's it.

Coco was a 'Junior.'

"Sweet dreams, Coco."

Without thinking about it, she kissed the girl's temple. "Wai- crap, am I allowed to...? ugh, never mind."

She closed her eyes and let herself fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

Coco waited until Velvet's breathing became even before saying anything. When she felt that the girl beneath her had fallen asleep, she sighed quietly.

She then let out a goofy, giddy smile.

"Heh... she kissed me."

* * *

 **Velvet and Coco date complete! Hopefully y'all thought it developed well! It was really fun to write, and I feel like they've gotten a little closer now that they've shared a crucial part of their lives to each other. I'm not too sure if I'm going to do anything with Coco's estranged father yet; but don't get your hopes up about that. The drama in Coco's life is mostly going to involve her mom; who I will be finally introducing sometime in the upcoming chapters.**

 **ahaha I hope you guys are still liking the story!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Ruby and Weiss date, GO!**

* * *

Weiss apprehensively stared up at the store sign above her with her brows furrowed in confusion. It read: _Rose-Branwen Weapons Shop_ , with a smaller text indicating that both professional hunters/huntresses and weapons enthusiasts alike were welcome beneath it. The outside of the store was cute (in Weiss' opinion); what with the classic wooden borders outlining the large display window, and the old-timey font they used for the sign situated on top of it. The logo of their business was also printed at the top-centre section of the window. It was an outlined picture of a red rose in between two black feathers. The former heiress quite liked the logo, and thought that it was a rather edgy design.

As she continued to stand in the street, she opted to check her outfit by using the store's window. She decided to wear something more casual for their meeting; seeing as they were only going to be studying for the night. So she sported a light-blue, fitted blouse with a pair of black denim jeans. She let her hair down, with her silky white locks flowing down her back. She also held a tote bag, which contained the study material that they were going to go over. Overall, she thought that the look was appropriate for their... erm, study session.

She then stared down at her Scroll, once again, just to double-check if she got the address right.

 _Yup... apparently this is 2445 Crescent Rose Dr._

"I remember Ruby saying that her family owned a weapons shop... but why did she send me the address to it?" Weiss mused out loud. She silently wondered if they were going to be studying there instead of Ruby's own home.

"That's because we live here too, kid."

"MotherFUCKER-!" Weiss literally jumped at the sudden intrusion, and held a ridiculous defensive stance towards the woman who appeared out of nowhere. When she realized who she essentially cussed at, the former heiress wanted crawl into her own grave.

Standing before her, with a thoroughly amused smile plastered on her face, was one Raven Rose-Branwen. The dark-haired woman was wearing a simple black, form-fitting sweater with dark blue jeans. She also saw that Raven was holding two decently sized wooden boxes, which were stacked atop one another. The former heiress assumed that they were weapons of some sort, or some kind of weapon-related inventory. Her gaze then slowly made it back to the woman's face, and she noted that Raven was still smiling down at her.

Suddenly, Weiss' eyes widened in horror, and she mentally jumped off a cliff.

 _Oh my God... I just cussed at Ruby's mother._

"Oh my gosh, I didn't see you there ma'am! I sincerely apologize for my vulgar language! "

Raven abruptly guffawed at the girl's flustered behaviour, and the former heiress simply stood there in doe-eyed confusion. The dark-haired woman gave her a friendly smile, "Okay first: don't call me ma'am. You can call me by Raven or Rae," she paused. "and Second: don't worry about it. Vi would literally cuss, specifically at me, _all the time._ She was like, a hundred times worse than you seem to be, Weiss."

Weiss laughed nervously at that. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing..."

"s'a little bit of both, I guess." Raven shrugged. The former heiress then fidgeted slightly when the woman smirked, "if you really want me to forgive you, then do you mind opening the door for me? My hands are kind of full at the moment."

"O-Oh! Yeah, sure. Of course!" Weiss quickly went to do what was asked of her, and she opened the front door to the woman's store. Once she did so, the small welcoming bell situated on top of the door rang with a little _ding!_ , indicating that they were entering the establishment. Raven promptly walked past the white-haired girl while giving her a thankful smile. Weiss returned the smile, and followed suit with the dark-haired woman.

However, shortly after they entered the store, Raven let out an exasperated groan.

Weiss jumped a little at the sudden outburst, and turned her head to see what had caused the woman strife. She then inwardly frowned. There was an entire display of weapons that was left a complete mess. There were rows of differently-sized switchblade knives scattered atop a wooden table. The black velvet table cloth situated under the display of knives was somewhat wrinkled, and seemed to be unevenly placed too. There were even brass-knuckled switchblade knives, chaotically piled atop one another. Overall, the display looked rather disorganized.

"God _dammit!_ I _told_ Yang to organize the switchblade display before she left to Pyrrha's for the Banquet!"

The former heiress then watched as Raven roughly placed the wooden boxes down on the ground, and begrudgingly went to do what she asked of her daughter.

"When I get my hands on that kid I'll-!"

"E-Erm..." Weiss feebly interrupted, "w-would you like some help with that?"

Raven straightened up in realization, and awkwardly smiled at the young girl. "N-No! Not at all! Weiss, you're a guest here. You don't need to worry about this stuff." The dark-haired woman then stared accusingly up at the ceiling. "And your _host_ should be down here any second now... once I tell her that you've arrived."

Weiss nodded at Raven's words but then jumped yet again when the woman began hollering at the ceiling.

"Oi! Rubes!" She waited a couple of moments for her child to answer.

"Yeah, Ma?!" Ruby hollered back. The girl's voice was more muffled, since she was literally a floor above them. Raven sighed, but nevertheless smiled, "Okay first of all: why is the switchblade display a complete mess?!"

There was a pause. "It's not my shift, Ma!"

The dark-haired woman shook her head exasperatedly at the girl's answer. But then she smirked deviously, "Also, your _daaaate_ is here! She's been patiently waiting for the past couple of minutes!" Weiss silently blushed at the woman mentioning that their study session was a date. She inwardly whined, and wondered why everyone was so intent on making this meeting more romantic that it should've been. They were literally going to be studyi-

 _Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!_

Weiss quirked an eyebrow at the rampant footsteps. She was then jolted upright in surprise when Ruby bursted through a door behind the cash register, near the far side of the store. She saw that the redhead was panting slightly, trying to catch her breath from running down to the store area of her home so fast.

"Y-You-!... ha.. Y-You didn't tell her anything _embarrassing_ , did you!?"

Raven chuckled at that, "the only one that's embarrassing themselves is you, Kiddo. Weiss here has been waiting for a while for ya, and was rather confused about our living conditions."

"Oh..." Ruby then turned to the white-haired girl, "Heh... sorry 'bout that! I probably should've told you that we lived here too- Oh WOW!" Weiss observed as the girl began to lean against the register's counter top with her elbows propping her head up, "You look so cute, Weiss!"

The former heiress blushed at the way in which the girl shamelessly complimented her in front of her mother. She coughed, "E-erm.. thanks, Ruby."

The hyperactive redhead beamed at the white-haired girl while she moved around the counter to approach her, "No problem!"

Once Ruby finally made it around the counter, Weiss was taken aback by how _good_ the girl looked. There Ruby stood, in a dark red muscle tee that sinfully exposed a bit of the girl's toned, pale stomach. The young redhead was also wearing a pair of black joggers; Weiss noted the way in which they hugged the girl's legs in _just_ the right places, and-

" _Ahem_..."

 _SHIT!_

Weiss' eyes widened in horror, and she turned her head to give the girl's mother an apologetic look. She saw that Raven was somewhat entertained by Weiss' actions, but she was mostly giving the white-haired girl a look of warning. Weiss didn't exactly blame her, seeing as she basically just ogled the woman's daughter right in front of her. At this point, Weiss was seriously considering bolting out of the store in utter shame. The said woman simply smirked back at the former heiress, "Well... I'll leave you kids to it then."

Ruby perked up, "Alright, thanks Ma!" she then turned to Weiss, "Follow me through this door right here; there's a staircase on the right that leads to our actual home."

The white-haired girl nodded in response, but before she left with Ruby she turned to properly say goodbye to the girl's mother.

"I-It was nice seeing you again, Raven."

The woman smiled at her, "Likewise. Oh and Ruby?"

Ruby tilted her head, "Yeah, Ma?" Raven smiled wickedly, "don't forget what I told you earlier this week; we have thin walls..."

Weiss then watched as Ruby's face was immediately engulfed in a familiar red tint. The girl gave her mother an exasperated expression and roughly grabbed the white-haired girl's arm to drag her away. The said white-haired girl was taken by surprise by the hyperactive redhead's sudden gruff behaviour, but nevertheless followed suit with where Ruby was taking her.

Soon, Weiss found herself on the other side of the door that was behind the cash register. She was met with a dimly lit hallway, with another staircase situated to her right. She also noted that there was a back exit at the end of the hall.

"Jeez... that crazy woman doesn't know when to shut up..." Ruby grumbled under her breath.

Weiss giggled at that, "she _does_ seem like she doesn't really have a filter."

"Oh she doesn't at all" Ruby stated as she continued to guide Weiss up the staircase, "Yang totally takes after her in that regard too..."

"Heh... I can see tha-omf!" Weiss was suddenly taken by surprise by the redhead's abrupt halt in movement. She ended up more or less so ramming right into the girl's back; which also got her wondering how sturdy Ruby could have possibly been. She literally walked right into her without the girl so much as budging. The white-haired girl then realized that they were at the top of the staircase, in front of the door that she assumed was the redhead's home.

"O-Oh my god, Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed as she rapidly turned to the girl's aid. This action, however, caused the redhead to be directly face-to-face with the former heiress. Weiss simply blushed profusely at the sudden proximity she found herself with the young girl, and she almost dropped her tote bag containing their study materials. The girl's silver eyes were gazing at her with genuine concern; and the white-haired girl could swear that there was something else lingering beneath the surface of that gaze.

Ruby then lightly tapped her forehead against Weiss' own, "are you okay?" she questioned softly. Silently taken aback by the girl's actions, all Weiss did was lamely nod in response. She continued to watch as Ruby gave her a lopsided smile. "Good."

Suddenly, the redhead grandly pushed the door to her home open.

"Welcome to my humble abode!"

* * *

Ruby inwardly smacked herself with the Dust Theory text book that was opened in front of her.

 _Dammit! I should've just freaking kissed her at the door! We'd probably be making out rather than actually studying right now..._

She continued to mentally mope as Weiss droned on about the politics of Dust and its relation to the trade industry. They had been studying for the past two and a half hours; and Ruby was really close to jumping out of a window. After she dramatically presented the white-haired girl to her home, Weiss wasted no time in getting them to go over the material for their Dust Studies midterm. The girl promptly asked her where Ruby's room was; and the hyperactive redhead got excited for the completely wrong reasons.

Well... with the way that Weiss stared at her while they were downstairs, she thought that the girl wanted her in that way too.

She gave herself a mental high-five for going with Yang's clothing advice. Her yellow-haired sister suggested that she go with a casually sexy look to 'blow Weiss' mind!'; thankfully, she took Yang seriously because it totally worked. The way the girl's half-lidded eyes scanned her body sent shivers down her spine; and admittedly almost made the young girl nervous. Ruby then smirked at the memory. The hyperactive redhead was well enough aware of how fit her body was, and she was pretty happy that Weiss got a glimpse of it.

"... dust is also used for specialized hunters and huntresses to slay the residual Grimm residing in the outskirts of Vacuo's borders; with their multi-purpose use, the element of dust is- Ruby! Are you even listening?!"

Ruby smacked her face against her text book. "Yup... dust changed technology as we know it.. blah blah blah, dust also raises ethical concerns about subpar working conditions... yadda yadda yadda; Merlot's Theory of Dust Ethics uses a five-factor framework that outlines-"

"I didn't mention anything about Merlot's Theory _yet_ ; and professor Port didn't even teach about it during our lectures." Weiss interrupted suspiciously. "that's part of the content we're learning _next week_..."

The redhead immediately straightened up, and blushed. "Uh-er, I-I know that!" Ruby mentally screamed at herself. The whole idea behind Weiss coming over was for the honour student to 'help out' with her studying! If the white-haired girl knew that she already reviewed the majority of the syllabus, then Weiss would probably think that she came there for nothing. Her eyes then widened in panic, and her mind went into overdrive while she tried to think of something to distract the older girl.

So she decided to use her body.

Ruby then nonchalantly raised her arms to stretch out her back. When she did so, her shirt rode up and exposed a good portion of her toned stomach. She inwardly smiled when she saw that Weiss was effectively distracted by it. The redhead faked a yawn " _Wow_ I am pooped from all this studying!"

"D-uhhh, wha-?" the white-haired uttered as she was coming out of her daze. Her eyes were still glued onto Ruby's abs. The young girl then smirked knowingly, "Weiss?"

Weiss immediately snapped out of her reverie and flushed, "E-Erm! A-Alright, we should take a little break then!"

"Yay~!" Ruby inwardly let out a breath of relief. It would seem that the white-haired girl forgot about her apparent intellect. She then slowly got up from her study desk, and walked to the TV that was in her room. She began setting up the game console at the foot of the TV so that they could play some of her video games. The young redhead decided to pick one of her favourites to play; it was called: _The Hunters of Remnant_.

It was one of those first-person, fighting games that had a really cool storyline to it. There were four main characters who were literally named after colours, and they all had elaborate back stories to them. She had been playing the game for a while now, and almost gave up on them. But after reading about the story lines online, Ruby _had_ to see it through. However, It was ridiculously hard for some reason, and she always ended up dying when she had to fight this huge dragon-type Grimm.

"What are you doing?" the former heiress slowly questioned, with some apprehension seeping into her voice.

"Setting up my game console so we can play _The Hunters of Remnant_ " Ruby replied in a singsongy voice as she continued to set up the console.

Weiss scoffed, "I'm not going to play some childish video game, Ruby." The redhead frowned, but then she smiled deviously as an idea popped up into her mind. "Alriight..." she dramatically sighed as she turned around, "well... playing video games _does_ require some degree of fine motor skills from your hands. Also, the game can be quite graphic at times what with the blood and gore. And if you can't handle it, then I wouldn't to make you uncomfortable or anything..."

She watched with amusement as Weiss slowly became indignant to her words. The former heiress had the beginnings of a pout forming on her face, and Ruby could _feel_ that she was totally affected by the things that she was saying. She inwardly gushed at how _easy_ it was to push the older girl's buttons. It was actually way too cute to see how immature Weiss really was. Ruby then observed as the girl abruptly stood up and stomped her way towards her.

"D-Don't be ridiculous! I'm a Schnee, I can handle anything." Weiss exclaimed as she roughly grabbed one of the game controllers from the TV stand. The white-haired girl began to poke at it, "so _how_ do I play with this.. thing."

Ruby giggled, "well first of all you hold it like this," she explained as she demonstrated on the controller that she was holding. Weiss followed suit with her actions, and then prompted the young girl to go on with an expectant look. The redhead smiled, "the four buttons on the right side of your controller serve as your attack and defence functions; the little toggle buttons on the top-right section of the controller, where your index fingers go, are used for your chosen character's 'special attack moves'; the top-left toggle buttons are used for special summoning or transformation techniques that our characters apparently have... I haven't actually used them because I have no idea _how_ , but I've seen online videos on how they look, and they're pretty cool!"

She then watched as Weiss seemed to process the instructions that she was giving her. She gave Ruby a slight nod, "I think I've got it..."

Ruby perked up, "Great! lets just sit at the foot of the bed so we can lean our backs against something and be comfortable!"

"U-Uh... sure." They both promptly went to sit down on the floor of her room. Ruby noticed, however, that Weiss opted to sit at a distance from her. She chuckled, "Weiss! c'mere." she patted the spot right next to her. Weiss simply blushed, and complied with the girls small request. Ruby smiled, "that's better."

"R-Right..."

The redhead then widened her eyes in realization, as Weiss sitting farther from her didn't hinder her game playing abilities at all. She just made it seem like she wanted to be close to Weiss; which was true, but she didn't want the white-haired girl to _know_ that. She coughed, "E-Erm! H-Having you closer to me would help you find out some combo moves. Like, when we're playing you could look over and see...?" Ruby then lifted her controller up and pressed a couple of buttons as a demonstration.

"O-Oh! Yeah, that's right!" Weiss hastily agreed. "t-that makes sense."

Ruby awkwardly laughed, and then turned on the game.

"Heh... let's play!"

- _Two hours later_ -

"D-Dammit! My dust bar doesn't have enough dust energy in it! Ruby, cover for me while I check if there are chests in those small caves!" Weiss exclaimed as she frantically mashed the buttons on her controller.

Ruby widened her eyes, but nevertheless nodded. "G-Got it! But I don't know if I can hold back this freaking Grimm-dragon for long!"

"D-Dolt, just do it!"

"Alright Alright!"

For the past two hours, both of the girls have been playing _Hunters of Remnant._ Ruby was pleasantly surprised to find that Weiss was totally engrossed with it; she also seemed to have a knack for playing video games. She was almost as good as Ruby herself.

The redhead's eyes then flitted briefly to their Dust Study materials that were long forgotten on her desk. The white-haired girl had her undivided attention on the game before them, and hasn't uttered a word about Dust Politics since they've started playing. If she did say anything about dust, it'd be in relation to the game.

She then turned her gaze back to the screen, and watched as their characters tried to make their way around the massive Grimm-dragon. To Ruby's amusement, Weiss had decided to pick the game's white character; who incidentally was also named 'White.' She was an ex-noble, knight-in-training who was kicked out of her court because of drastically differing views on how her old kingdom should be led. Her father, who was also the King, kicked her out before she could begin swaying the minds of his followers into thinking her way. She was then reduced to wandering the world of Remnant, and that was when she met Ruby's character: Red.

Red was a freelance warrior, who randomly picked up missions when she wanted to. She wielded this awesome, massive scythe and had these super cool powers that she could do with her eyes. There wasn't much known about her character's origins; but apparently that was going to be the main plot of the next game! All that was known to the players was that Red came from an ancient line of warriors who were sometimes referred to as Gods by the people. And that Red herself had no memory of her home.

The main plot of this particular game that they were playing at the moment was centred around White.

There were also two other main characters named Black and Yellow. They had backstories of their own too, and the upcoming instalments of the game were going to highlight them. She heard rumours online that the black and yellow storylines were intertwined, and had some romance aspect to them. Ruby was totally stoked for them and couldn't wait!

"A-Ah! I've got the dust!" Weiss suddenly yelled.

Ruby jolted upright in surprise, "G-Great! use your special move against the Grimm-dragon!"

"Wait! I think I can use my summoning powers!"

Ruby gasped, "H-How did you manage that!? _I've_ been trying to figure out how to use the summoning/transformation function for weeks now and-!" she then caught a glimpse of the white-haired girls dust bar. It was literally _glowing_ white! Usually, when players got enough dust, the bar would turn green to indicate that they could use a special move.

Weiss smirked, "You had to fill the dust bar about three times to be able to use those functions... I think."

Ruby gaped at the girl. She honestly would have never thought about exceeding the limit to the dust bar. Whenever she had enough of dust energy, she would just hastily use her character's special power move against her foes. She let out a small 'Oh...' and then jumped yet again from the sound of the Grimm-dragon's roar coming from her TV screen.

"W-Well use it!" Ruby yelled, "my character's life bar is critically low!"

"S-Shit! Alright, here I gooo!" Weiss all but slammed her finger onto the top-left toggle button of her controller.

They both watched as the screen went black, and Ruby almost squealed when she saw the familiar scene unravel before them. White held her sword up in the air, and began chanting in some ancient language; there were subtitles on the screen that showed them what she was saying. They read:

 _I call to you, Knight-King of the White heritage.  
_ _Come to my aid and slay this dastardly beast before me! Feast on its blood and bones.  
_ _Mount its head onto the walls of your castle.  
_ _As a daughter of the Ancient Line of White, I summon thee!_

White's character then slammed the blade into the ground; and suddenly, these really intricate-looking glyphs were formed around her. They then continued to observe as the White Knight that White was summoning appeared out of one of the glyphs. And he was _massive_! He was essentially the same size of the Grimm-dragon! White then ran up the length of her summoned Knight, and perched herself on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly to address the young woman, and waited.

White smirked and then pointed one finger towards the Grimm-dragon.

"Slay it."

The Knight-King nodded and then raised the sword he was holding in his right hand. The Grimm-Dragon tried to attack him, but he swiftly incapacitated it by kicking it down with his left leg. Then, in one fell swoop, the massive Knight swung his blade towards the Dragon and decapitated it. However, right after he swung, he disappeared and exploded into a rain of light crystals. In the midst of it all, Weiss' character slowly floated downwards, but she suddenly collapsed when she finally made it to the ground.

The game then transitioned to the ending cut-scene, and both of the girls watched it attentively.

Red immediately went to catch White before she fell. She smiled at the woman's sleeping form.

 _"You did it, White."_

 _"Oh she did something, alright."_ Red's character whipped her head towards the new voice, and was met with a pale character who wore a tattered black robe. There were veins pulsating and protruding from under the new woman's skin, and her eyes were the purest of black. She held a playful expression towards the Red character.

 _"Meron."_ Red stated, _"What are you doing here."_

 _"Oh, just coming to see who killed my most favoured pet. And it would seem that the Knight-King's descendent was the culprit."_

 _"She had to kill your so called pet to protect the people of her Kingdom!"_ Red defended. Meron scoffed at that, _"Yeah, a Kingdom that banished her."_

Red became quiet at that, but then sighed, _"You know how fickle humans can be, Meron... and the Knight-King's legacy is a prime example of that; what the girl did was noble, and she shouldn't be punished for what she believed was right!"_

 _"Ha! It's not me who wants to punish her; although, I don't appreciate the girl slaying of my Grimm-dragon..."_ Meron stated _, "It's the Dominion that wants her. She committed blasphemy by summoning the Knight-King's damned spirit. And now they want her to pay."_

Red snarled, _"Why would God's want to involve themselves with a human!?"_

 _"I could ask the same of you, Red."_

 _"...I am just saying that there are others who have done worse."_

Meron laughed humourlessly at that, _"Well that's why we have Gods... so they can decide who those people are."_ She then challenged the Red character, _"So what are you going to do with the girl, God."_

 _"Don't call me that."_

 _"Hmmph... you can deny it all you want, but you're never going to be free of that title. Just answer my question. I'm merely a messenger, and I need to report your actions to The Dominion."_

The screen then panned to Red's face, as she held a determined expression.

" _You tell them that they're going to have to get through me to get to the Knight-King's descendent._ "

" _You can't possibly go against The Dominion on your own..._ "

Red smirked, " _Oh I won't be..."_

The screen slowly faded out and cut into a scene of two beings sitting on top of a mountain. Ruby gasped when she realized that it was the other two main characters of the game: Yellow and Black. Yellow was sprawled all over the grass, while Black was perched on top of a small boulder. Suddenly, the necklace around yellow's neck began pulsating, and she tilted her head in confusion. But then she smirked.

" _looks like Red needs a little help_..."

Black stared at her blankly, " _do you think she's in trouble?_ " Yellow simply shrugged at that with a playful smile. " _Who knows?_ "

The more vibrant of the two then stood up abruptly, and looked to the horizon.

 _"Let's go."_

The TV screen went black yet again, but then loud alternative-rock music began playing while the ending credits rolled in. Ruby and Weiss sat their in awe for a couple of moments. The hyperactive redhead had scoured the internet for the ending cut scenes of the game, but she couldn't find them no matter how hard she tried! And now that she kind of had an idea of the plot for the next game, she couldn't wait until it came out.

Ruby sighed, "Well-!"

"Do you have the next game." Weiss deadpanned. The redhead almost laughed at the former heiress' absolute interest in the game. Ruby smiled, "Well... it's not out yet, but we should totally play it when it gets released! It comes out during our Winter break, I think."

"Whaat? That's in like a month!" Weiss whined as she threw her back over Ruby's bed. Ruby chuckled at that, "Oh it's not that long a wait, Weiss!"

 _Oh my gosh she's a total video game nerd!_

"My goodness, that was such a good game! And the way they portrayed the use of dust through weaponry was pretty accurate! I've seen hunters and huntresses incorporate dust with their fighting styles and-!" Weiss paused. The redhead then tilted her head in confusion when the white-haired girl face-palmed.

"Oh my God, we barely studied for the midterm today!" the former heiress all but yelled. Ruby then shrank under the accusing look that the girl gave her. She shrugged, "We just got lost in the game! M-Maybe next time...?"

"You better believe that we're going to do some proper studying next time!"

The hyperactive redhead inwardly smiled at that.

 _Yay~ there's going to be a next time!_

"It's 10:00PM already?!"

Ruby stared at the clock hanging from her wall; which showed her that it was indeed 10 o'clock at night, "Heh... I guess so! Wow, time really does fly when you're having fun, amirite?" The older girl simply gave her an unimpressed look, but then sighed, "Well... I have to get home now. Should I exit through the front of the store?"

The young redhead straightened up, "Oh! Yeah, you can go through the front door. I'll walk you out!" Ruby watched as Weiss slowly nodded, "Alright. Thank you, Ruby."

They both then made their way towards the front door of her family's store. Ruby noted the tension that was building with each and every step she took towards the exit. She then inwardly began to hype herself up for what she was going to do.

 _A-Alright, Ruby! Don't screw this up! Her lips are literally at the bottom-half of her face; there's no way that you could miss! and Ma and Mom don't seem to be home at the moment. So the stage is set!_

When they finally made it to the store's entrance, they both awkwardly stood at the door; not knowing what to do. Ruby began fidgeting while she alternated from leaning on the ball of her heels, to going on her tippy toes. Weiss lifted her right hand to pull some of her hair behind her right ear, and she feebly stared at Ruby with some kind of expectance.

The older coughed, "E-Erm... I had a great time, Ruby. Even though we totally digressed from studying...I-It was fun.."

Ruby beamed at the older girl, and leaned in. "Y-Yeah! I had a lot of fun too! Next time, we should totally play the next one"

"D-Dolt! Next time we're going to be studying! and we're going to do so at _my_ place. There are no distractions there to prevent us from actually getting our work done."

"Eheh..." Ruby awkwardly rubbed the back of her head with her left hand. "A-Alright deal."

Weiss, however, suddenly became quiet, and Ruby tilted her head in confusion when the girl had a dazed expression. She then followed the girl's line of vision, and looked down to see that she was staring at her exposed stomach. The young redhead figured that her shirt rode up yet again when she lifted her arm to rub the back of her head.

She smirked and leaned in closer to the older girl. Now... they were merely inches away from each others faces. Ruby could feel the slightly laboured breaths that the girl in front of her was taking; and she could see her eyes trailing across her body with unadulterated _hunger_.

"Weiss... my eyes are up here."

Ruby then observed as the older girl's gaze found its way to her lips. The redhead laughed nervously. "W-Weiss... those are my lips."

Weiss leaned in close, and she pressed her forehead against Ruby's. Her eyes then held Ruby's gaze, and she let out a shaky breath.

"I-I know..."

Weiss closed her eyes and kissed her.

Now, Ruby didn't want to sound cliche by describing that she felt fireworks when Weiss kissed her... but yeah, she felt a spark or like _a thousand_ when their lips finally came in contact. Something seemed to ignite within the redhead, and she wanted _more_. But she didn't dare to deepen the kiss; not when she wasn't the one who instigated it. The kiss itself was soft, and sweet. She could vaguely sense the taste of peppermint on the older girl's lips; which was a sensation that she could _totally_ get used to.

She could also feel herself smiling into it, but that was when Weiss decided to pull away. She inwardly pouted, but then gushed at the utterly bashful expression that Weiss was displaying towards her.

There were a silent for a moment, but then Ruby couldn't help but say these next words.

"Heh... I-I guess that makes me your _Dolt-Friend_ now..."

Weiss blushed, and turned her head.

"Y-You Dolt!"

Ruby laughed and kissed her again.

* * *

 **Ruby and Weiss date COMPLETE!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed it! This was ESPECIALLY FUN to write :P ahahaha get ready for some awkward Bumblebee fluff for the next chapter!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Blake and Yang date is finally ready for y'all!**

 **The bees... they be buzzing in this chapter xD LOL enjoy!**

* * *

Yang checked her makeup through the sun-visor mirror at the front of Pyrrha's car for like the hundredth time that night. She was currently in the Amazonian's vehicle with their monkey-Faunus friend, and his 'not crush' Neptune. He swore that he was only going to the Banquet with the blue-haired boy as a friend, but Yang knew better than that. However, she decided not to joke about it too much because they weren't too sure about Neptune's preferences yet.

They were driving to pick up Blake from her home; which was why Yang kept on checking her appearance every thirty seconds or so.

"Yang. You look _fine._ You're totally going to blow Blake away with your look!"

The blonde gave the tall redhead a sidelong glance, and smiled, "T-Thanks, Pyrrha." she then laughed nervously. "Oh, God. I feel like I'm gonna throw up..."

"Ooooh, I've never seen Yang so nervous before!" Neptune suddenly exclaimed. Sun abruptly laughed at that, "Right?! It's like she's a whole new other person!"

Yang whipped her head around, and gave the tux-clad boys in the back of the car a good glare. In response, the boisterous duo simply raised their arms in defence, but nevertheless gave her their own respective shit-eating grins. Before turning back around to check her face in the mirror ( _again_ ), she gave them one last look of warning. "You guys are so _annoying._ You better not make Blake feel uncomfortable during the ride!"

Neptune dramatically gasped at that, "I have no idea what you're talking about because I am a _delight!"_ Sun, on the other hand, playfully rolled her eyes at the blonde girl. "Don't worry _sweety._ We'll make sure your date feels right at home when we pick her up; while she's sandwiched _right between_ us!"

Suddenly, Yang didn't feel like she could trust the two boys and decided to exercise some precaution. She became quiet for a couple of moments, but then piped up.

"...she's sitting at the front with Pyrrha."

Both Sun and Neptune immediately made sounds of protest to the statement she made, but Yang quickly silenced them with a wave of her hand. "Ah! Shut up! I can't trust the two of you back there with her alone. And God _knows_ what kind of stupid things you guys might tell her..."

In response, the boys simply grumbled about how much of a party pooper the blonde was, but nonetheless complied with her orders. The car then entered a comfortable, silent lull, which Yang was completely thankful for. She needed some time to just breathe while she mentally prepared herself for what was to come.

For the past couple of days, Yang had been completely ecstatic at the thought of taking Blake to the Athletic's Banquet. The day after the Faunus girl said yes, Yang forced Pyrrha to help her pick a dress for the date. After hours of searching with the tall Amazonian, the blonde finally found the perfect (and _affordable_ ) evening gown to 'wow' the Cat-Faunus girl.

For the Banquet, the yellow-haired girl chose to wear a black, lace and tulle cocktail dress that ended about an inch above her knees. The dress was supported by two thin spaghetti straps at her shoulders, and had a sweet-heart neckline that perfectly accentuated her bust. She decided to apply a light layer of foundation on her face, along with some eyeliner and mascara. She also opted to go with a bold, but subtle style for her eyeshadow; and wore a dark, brown colour that faded into a shimmering gold towards the corners of her eyelids. Overall, she thought that the look was both sophisticated and cute; which was the vibe that she was totally aiming for.

"So I take a left on this street...?"

Yang raised her head, and nodded in affirmation to Pyrrha's question. "Yup. You take a left here, and her house should be the second last one on the right." she then quirked a questioning brow at the redhead, "I'm surprised you don't know where she lives; you know, considering that you both basically live in the same neighbourhood."

Pyrrha shrugged at the statement, "The people in this neighbourhood only ever get together at fancy social gatherings; and the Belladonna's are scarcely invited to them."

"Why's that?"

The tall redhead sighed, "To be frank, this neighbourhood is filled with a bunch of selfish assholes. The type of business that Blake's mother owns is rather unpopular with this crowd. So, a non-profit organization like the _Belladonna's Faunus Rights_ _Association_ is kind of off-putting for a lot of business moguls; especially for the ones who want to monopolize Faunus' and their potential use in the labour force. To say the least, Blake's family, specifically her mother, isn't very well-liked."

The blonde crossed her arms, "well that's stupid."

"Yeah, no kidding..." Pyrrha affirmed. Suddenly, both girls jumped at the abrupt, excited exclamation of the blue-haired boy in the back of the car. "Wow! Is that Blake's house right there?!"

Yang turned her head towards the general direction of the Faunus girl's home, and slowly nodded. "H-Heh... yeah.." She saw the familiar, black and grey, geometric house at the end of the street; and soon, she could feel her that heartbeat had quickened in anxiety. It would seem that the blonde Faunus in the back could sense the change in her demeanour, as he (rather _roughly_ ) placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder.

"Go get 'em, girl!"

Yang rolled her eyes with a small smile, "Right..."

Soon, Pyrrha rolled the car to a stop, and the blonde found herself fidgeting yet again at the prospect of actually _interacting_ with Blake. She stared at the girl's front door from Pyrrha's passenger seat, and took in a deep breath. She slowly let it out, and lightly slapped her face to help hype herself up. " _Alright_... I got this!" She abruptly opened the car door, and stepped onto the Faunus girl's driveway. As she walked, she could feel that her body would become heavier with each and every step she took towards Blake's home. Before the blonde knew it, she was directly in front of the Cat-Faunus' dimly lit doorway.

Yang visibly gulped. "Okay... just knock on the door, Yang."

She slowly lifted her right arm up to do this very _simple_ task.

However, that was the exact moment when Pyrrha thought it would be appropriate to blare her freaking car horn like twenty times. This resulted in the blonde basically _punching_ the door out of pure shock. She winced when she could _hear_ that she damaged the Faunus girl's front door from the menacing _crack!_ that emitted from the accidental action. But, before checking the potential damage that she had done, she whipped her head around to give her friends a glare of fury.

"Oi! What the _hell_ was that?!"

Pyrrha rolled down the passenger seat window, and offered Yang an apologetic smile, "S-Sorry! Sun got impatient and got a hold of the wheel!" The blonde then heard the boisterous laughter of the monkey-Faunus in the back of the car, " _Oh my God_ , did she _dent_ Blake's front door?!" his muffled voice exclaimed.

Yang slowly turned her head to see if what the boy said was true. She then groaned out loud when she saw that she, very much indeed, dented the Faunus girl's front door. The blonde girl physically face-palmed and wondered what kind of sins she must have committed in her past life to deserve such idiotic _luck_.

 _I mean... I'm fundamentally a good person. So c'mon, God! What'd I do?!_

She turned around to face her friends, and gestured exasperatedly when they gave her unapologetic expressions.

"Guys, what the _fu-!_ "

"Yang... why is there a dent in my door?"

Instead of simply answering the sudden question, Yang flailed her body like a spastic fish out of water at the Faunus girl's unexpected intrusion. She also made a weird, and ridiculously _unattractive_ guttural sound of shock as she briefly flailed around like an outright idiot. When she finally got a hold of herself, her face immediately reddened from the embarrassment of it all. She actually had half the mind to run back into the car and tell Pyrrha to 'floor it.' However, once she turned around to actually answer the dark-haired girl, Yang was at a complete loss for words.

Currently leaning against the doorframe, with a small smile on her face, was one _tux-clad_ Blake Belladonna.

The dark-haired Faunus sported a slim, form-fitting white tux jacket that had contrasting black lapels on the front of it. Underneath the jacket, the Faunus girl wore a white button-up shirt with a perfectly tied black bowtie at her collar. She also had on a pair of black, cropped trousers and wore her hair down like she usually did. When Yang's eyes found their way back to Blake's face, she saw that the girl was still giving her a thoroughly amused look.

"D-uh, W-Well I... heh." Yang scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

 _UGH! Way to start off the date, Yang!_

"Way to start off your _daaate_ , Yang!" Neptune bellowed from Pyrrha's car. The blonde growled and abruptly turned around to flip the blue-haired boy off, "Screw _off,_ Neptune!"

She then turned back around to properly address the Faunus girl, "Okay so about your door..." Blake gave her an amused expression that told her to go on. Yang sighed heavily, and inwardly cursed Sun with eternal damnation. "Sun scared me when he honked the car horn like fifty times, and I accidentally punched it. Heh, I sometimes forget that my prosthetic is literally made out of a steel-like dust stone base... So I can sometimes pack a heavy punch..."

Blake chuckled at that while she briefly stared back at her dented front door. "I can see that..."

"Well, you know what I can see?" The Faunus girl tilted her head slightly at Yang's sudden question, and actually looked back to see if there was something going on in her home. The blonde continued on, "I see a really _Purr_ -etty girl! Blake, you look absolutely amazing!" Yang's statement was immediately met with silence. After she realized how _lame_ she sounded, the yellow-haired girl mentally jumped in front of a bus.

 _What kind of leeway...!?_

However, Blake coughed into her hand and Yang could sense the beginnings of a blush forming on the other girl's face. The Faunus girl have her a small smile, "T-Thank you, Yang. You look beautiful tonight, too."

At that comment, Yang became absolutely giddy. _Heh... she thinks I look beautiful..._

Suddenly, both of the girls jumped from the obnoxious honking of Pyrrha's car horn.

"HEY! Can you guys hurry it up with the flirting?! I wanna go bust a move on the dance flo'!" Sun hollered from the back seat. Yang blushed at the boy's words, but then turned to face Blake, who also had a small blush on her face as well. She would have made a remark towards the Faunus boy, but the blonde had a feeling that arguing with him would come to no avail.

Blake held her arm out for Yang to take. "Shall we?"

Yang let out a giddy smile and took the Faunus girl's arm, "We shall!"

The dark-haired girl closed the door, and briefly stared at the dent. "I'll explain that to my mom later..."

Yang giggled nervously at that, and they both made their way towards Pyrrha's car. The yellow-haired girl made sure that Blake took the passenger seat, and forced Neptune in the middle so that she could take her own seat in the back. The tall redhead smiled at the Faunus girl as she buckled her seatbelt, "Heya Blake. Nice tux!"

Blake awkwardly smiled at the girl. "Hey Pyrrha. Erm, nice dress. You look great."

"Hey! What about us?!" Sun abruptly whined from his seat. Neptune nodded, "Yeah, we look dapper too. Praise us~"

Pyrrha rolled her eyes with a small smile, "Hah... no."

"Yeah, Blake looks a thousand times better than you guys!" Yang thoughtlessly blurted out. Pyrrha immediately guffawed at that, "Save the flirting for the dance, please."

The blonde girl blushed and stuck her tongue out towards the redhead at the front wheel. The tall Amazonian simply shook her head at Yang's immature actions, and then smirked. "You guys ready?"

Suddenly, the car was filled with excitement; and Yang noticed that even Blake seemed pretty hyped about the dance too. Everyone responded to the redhead with their own respective exclamations, and energized hollering.

"Then let's go!"

Pyrrha floored it towards the Academy.

* * *

Blake laughed out loud at the story that Pyrrha was telling everybody about one of Yang's kickboxing matches at a rival school. She was currently sitting at a large table with Yang and a bunch of her sports friends; with the blonde sitting right beside her. The atmosphere of the Banquet was very similar to that of the Family Welcome ball held a month ago. One of the few differences between the two events was that this particular function was held in the Academy's gymnasium, rather than the auditorium.

Unfortunately for Sun, the type of music that the planner decided to play wasn't exactly the kind of music he'd be able to 'bust a move' to. However, he apparently had a 'plan' to fix that so called 'problem.'

"God it was _so_ embarrassing!" Pyrrha exclaimed. She then turned accusingly towards the boisterous blonde, "I don't think we can go to a match in Atlas _ever_ again."

"How was I supposed to know that the snobby old man was an official public figure!?" Yang groaned, "Everyone in that godforsaken place is literally the _same_ , and he deserved what he had coming!"

"I think punching the _vice president_ of a country is considered as a federal crime, Yang." the tall Amazonian quipped.

"And I'm pretty sure that sexually harassing a _minor_ is also considered as a form of crime, Pyrrha!" the blonde retorted. Blake then watched as the girl visibly shivered, "Oh _God_ , I can still remember how he 'congratulated' me' after the final match that I had with their school's representative kick-boxer..."

"You should have broken his legs!"

Blake turned her head to gape at the strawberry blonde girl who suggested such a thing. The girl's name was Nora, and Blake learned that she was a member of Beacon's girl's Rugby team. The Cat-Faunus also found out that Nora was also a rather boisterous, but friendly person. Personally, she thoroughly enjoyed the loud girl's presence. It's just, she seemed like she could be really... _intense_ at times.

"Nora... that's even worse than punching the vice president's face..." a calm, but exasperated voice chimed in.

Blake recognized that the voice belonged to one Lie Ren; who was also the hyperactive girl's boyfriend. The Faunus girl figured that Nora was the one who invited Ren to the function; seeing as his family owned a well-known, naturopathic medicinal company. So she knew that the boy belonged to the business sector of their Academy.

"Exactly!" Nora exclaimed. Blake then observed as the girl proceeded to 'boop' Ren on the nose. He simply responded by shaking his head with a small smile.

"Ugh, guuuys... when are we gonna start dancing? I mean, I'm having fun chatting with you and all, but I'm starting to get _b_ _oored_ " Neptune abruptly whined. Pyrrha placed a hand on the whiny boy's shoulder, "Nep, classical music isn't exactly the type of music we can _dance_ to; and besides, Sun has a pla-!"

Suddenly, everyone in the gym covered their ears at the jarring sound of microphone feedback being emitted from the school's P.A system. Everything went silent, and even the band players stopped playing their instruments. Everyone began staring at each other in confusion, but Blake had a feeling that she knew what was going on. She then mentally shook her head.

 _Of course Sun would come up with something like this..._

" _A-Ahem! Can I have everyone's attention please~"_ Sun's voice came through. Pyrrha immediately face-palmed when she recognized the voice. Yang and Neptune, on the other hand, began smiling like maniac's and excitedly anticipated the Faunus boy's next actions. Blake, along with the rest of the group, simply smiled exasperatedly at the events that were currently unfolding.

" _Okay, so I'll make this quick..."_ the Faunus boy began, " _the music at this dance freaking SUCKS; but I, your friendly neighbourhood Sun-man, am here to make it unsuck!_ " Majority of the people in the room laughed at the boy's antics. But suddenly, all the lights went off and everyone made startled exclamations at the stark change in atmosphere. However, shortly after the gym went dark, it abruptly ignited in different hues of blues, purples and reds in the form of over a thousand LED fairy lights that were hung all over the gym's walls and ceiling.

Then, a familiar pop song started to fade into the P.A system, and Sun began to laugh. " _Heh, well I hope you guys thoroughly enjoy this! Because I know that I'm totally getting detention after pulling this stunt..."_ Again, everyone laughed at that last part that the Faunus boy added in. The music then gradually got louder, and Blake jumped slightly at the abrupt hollering that emitted from various students throughout the gymnasium. However, even Blake herself felt like she was getting swept up in the atmosphere and almost started hollering too. She could feel that she had a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Ooooh! I _love_ this song!" Pyrrha exclaimed. Blake then watched as Yang began to smile slyly at the tall Amazonian, "Why don't you ask a certain scraggly blonde to dance, then?"

"Wha-?!"

"OI, Jaune!"

Blake inwardly laughed at the way in which Pyrrha froze like a statue at the mention of the boy's name. The boy in question, who was standing at the punch bowl table, turned his head towards the blonde girl and pointed at himself in confusion. Yang nodded with a friendly smile, and gestured for Jaune to come over to their general vicinity. He simply shrugged and did as he was told.

" _Yaang?!_ what the _hell?!_ " Pyrrha whined.

" _You_ basically did the same with _me_ when you forced me into asking Blake out! Now it's _your_ turn."

The Faunus girl raised an eyebrow at the first part of Yang's statement. She then decided to tease the girl a little. "Oh? So you were forced into taking me to this dance?" Blake innocently asked. She watched with amusement as the blonde began to wave her arms in panic while she struggled to backpedal on her words.

"N-No! I-uh.. erm-! T-That's not what I meant-!"

"Hey? Er, you called for me?"

Yang turned to face Jaune, "Oh! Uh, yeah..." She then smiled sweetly at Pyrrha, "My good friend _Pyrrha_ here wants to ask you a _question._ "

Blake noticed the brief expression of unbridled _rage_ that Pyrrha directed at Yang, but it was soon replaced with a look of bashfulness when she turned to address the blonde boy in front of them. The Faunus girl silently watched with mirth as the tall redhead inhaled deeply, and continued to outright blurt out the _question_ that she apparently had for Jaune.

"W-W-W-Will y-you dance-!?" Pyrrha's voice got caught in her throat. Jaune raised an eyebrow at the stuttering girl, "Will I dance...?"

"with me..." the tall redhead finished with despair.

"Sure." Pyrrha did a double-take towards the blonde boy; and she gave him an expression of hopeful incredulousness. He shook his head with a smile, and laughed. "Pyrrha, I'll dance with you."

The Cat-Faunus continued to observe as the tall redhead squealed while practically dragging the blonde boy onto the dance floor. Then, it was Yang's turn to shake her head. "I _told_ her that she was overcomplicating things..." Blake giggled at that; and the blonde girl seemed to remember that she actually had a date for the dance. Soon, Blake noticed that they were the only ones still sitting at the table. The others from the group were either making use of the dance floor, or mingling with other students around the gymnasium.

Blake jumped slightly when Yang suddenly materialized right in front of her with her hand held out. She began to blush when she knew what the blonde girl was asking of her.

"Heh... you wanna dance with me Blakey?"

The Faunus girl smiled nervously at her date. "S-Sure."

 _Oh God, I don't even know if I can dance..._

Blake's nerves, however, were tossed right out of the window when Yang started to flail her body to the beat of the music. The Faunus girl herself was modestly swaying, and bouncing to the rhythm of the song; while smiling with absolute entertainment as she watched her dance partner literally tear up the dance floor. She performed _all_ of the cheesy dance moves! At a point during the song, the blonde girl started to do the running man and Blake completely _lost it_. She actually had to clutch at her stomach and use Yang's shoulder as support so she wouldn't topple over in a fit of laughter.

"W-Wow- ahahaha! Yang you _suck_ at this!" Blake half-yelled over the music as she laughed.

Shortly after the Cat-Faunus made that statement, she felt the blonde's arm snake around her waist; and her laughter immediately ceased. She jolted forwards in surprise, which inadvertently caused her to press her body against Yang's. On reflex, she moved her head to the side when she felt that the yellow-haired girl had pressed her face against her neck. The Faunus girl then visibly shivered as Yang's lips made their way towards her right ear.

"Then why don't you teach me?"

Blake blushed profusely at their sudden change in proximity, and then fidgeted nervously at Yang's suggestion. "I-I don't think that I'll be much help..." Despite the Faunus girl's words, she didn't physically indicate that she wanted to remove herself from the blonde girl's arms.

Suddenly, the music transitioned into a slower tempo, and Blake began to laugh awkwardly at the blonde in front of her. Yang simply smiled, and guided the Faunus girl's hands to her hips. The dark-haired girl silently complied to the blonde's instructions, while trying to calm the pounding of her heart within her chest. She gasped slightly when the girl in front of her wrapped her arms around her shoulders, but then she relaxed into Yang's embrace and placed her hands onto the small of the girl's back.

Blake giggled, "Who's supposed to be teaching who, again?"

"Hmm... we can learn from each other!" Yang replied with a brilliant smile.

Blake returned the smile, and rested her forehead against Yang's. She saw that the taller blonde's gaze had softened when she did so, and their interaction entered a comfortable silent lull. They both simply swayed rhythmically to the music, and enjoyed each other's presence as the song went on. Blake noticed that the intense hammering within her chest had subsided as she became more comfortable with the blonde's proximity. However, she could still feel the sensation of a thousand butterflies running rampant within her stomach as she anticipated the actions that either she, or the blonde, were going to take.

The Faunus girl could feel Yang's breath on her skin, and she noted that her partner's breathing had quickened in anticipation too. Blake subconsciously held the blonde tighter, and steeled herself into maintaining eye contact with the girl in front of her. She searched the blonde's eyes for any sign of hesitation, and was met with a reassuring gaze. Blake could make out the hints of a blush forming on the other girl's cheeks, and then her eyes finally made their way towards Yang's lips. She almost groaned at the borderline _illegal_ way in which the blonde bit down on them in nervousness. Blake could feel that her own eyes were beginning glaze over in unadulterated _need,_ and decided that she was at her limit. She gazed back up to the blonde, and took in a deep breath.

"Y-Yang...I-"

"Do you mind if I cut in?"

* * *

"Do you mind if I cut in?"

Yang fought hard to bite down the annoyed groan that was bubbling within her throat.

 _Do you mind if I cut YOU?!_

Instead of actually saying what was on her mind, the blonde did her best to perk up and moved to the side for Ilia. She flashed the Chameleon-Faunus a smile, "Sure thing, Blake's all yours!" She was about to walk away and wait for _her date_ at the punch-bowl table across the dance floor, but was then stopped by Ilia's arm blocking her way. This resulted in the yellow-haired girl's anger spiking momentarily, and she jerked her head around to address the reptile Faunus.

 _Does she really want to fight-!?_

"Blake's not the one I want to dance with."

Yang didn't even bother to hide the utter confusion that she felt towards Ilia's statement. She gave the girl a brief look of incredulousness, but then recovered from it by coughing into her hand. She then chanced a glance at Blake, who also seemed mildly puzzled by the reptile Faunus' request. Nevertheless, Yang watched as her Cat-Faunus date nodded towards Ilia with an amicable smile.

"Sure," Blake answered, "Yang's all yours." She then turned to face the yellow-haired girl, "I'll be waiting by the punch-bowl table..."

Yang gave the Cat-Faunus a small nod, and watched as the dark-haired girl made her way across the dance floor. She then inwardly rolled her eyes, and then turned to address the Chameleon-Faunus before her. Ilia simply gave the blonde girl a calculating smile, and held her hand out for Yang to take. Yang begrudgingly took it with a fake smile of her own, but then she yelped in surprise when the shorter girl roughly grabbed her. The reptile-Faunus made sure to take the lead in their little dance, and the fiery blonde reluctantly complied.

Yang narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the shorter Faunus girl. "What are you playing at, Ili-"

"You better back off before I break your teeth."

The blonde girl merely raised an eyebrow at Ilia's threat, but then steeled herself into acting indifferent to it. " _You_ better back off before I break your legs!" Yang replied with a threatening smile. She had a feeling that Blake was watching them from a distance, and didn't want to make it obvious that they were outright feuding. So she tried her best to flash a 'genuine-looking' smile at the shorter Faunus girl to create a seemingly friendly interaction. She knew that Ilia was one of Blake's oldest friends, and that the Cat-Faunus probably wouldn't appreciate it if Yang made it obvious that she didn't like her.

Which kind of says a lot because Yang tends to like _everybody_.

Yang then squeaked slightly in surprise, yet again, when Ilia held her uncomfortably closer to her body. The reptile-Faunus leaned in, and placed her lips against the blonde girl's left ear. From their new position, Yang could see that Blake was observing the entire interaction with an unreadable expression. However, before the yellow-haired girl could continue to think about the Faunus girl across the dance floor, Ilia began talking right into her ear.

"You _don't_ want to mess with me, Yang. I know people who would _love_ to hurt you; and besides, Blake doesn't belong with the people of _your_ kind."

The blonde was genuinely taken aback by Ilia's words. Mostly because the pure resentment that the Reptile-Faunus girl had for humans was so intense that Yang could practically _feel_ it. Yang knew that humans have wronged the Faunus in every thinkable way in the past, but this resentment that was emanating from Ilia felt undeniably personal.

"I-I-!"

"The song's finished. I'm gonna go." Ilia interrupted. She then removed herself from Yang's arms, and then flashed her a brilliantly threatening smile. "Remember what I said, Yang. She doesn't belong with _you_." The blonde simply crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes at the Chameleon-Faunus in defiance. And with that, Ilia left; leaving an eery vibe with the blonde.

 _If she thinks that's gonna stop me from being with Blake then she's got another thing coming for her!_

Yang then remembered that Blake, was in fact, _still_ her date for the dance and then scanned the entire gym for her. She finally spotted a familiar pair of Cat-Faunus ears over by the bleachers. The blonde noted that the Faunus girl was sitting alone and... staring right back at her with an unreadable expression. She offered Blake a friendly smile, but it didn't seem to be reciprocated. The Cat-Faunus simply continued to stare at Yang with the same expression, but still acknowledged that she saw the Yang. This made the blonde a little nervous, and her mind went into overdrive while she thought about how she could have possibly made the girl mad.

She decided not to dwell on it too much, and opted to cross the dance floor to be with her date. She gently pushed past against the residual couples on the dance floor, and before she knew it, she was right in front of Blake. She smiled down at the Cat-Faunus, and laughed nervously. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long..."

The Faunus girl 'hmm'd' in understanding, and continued to stare at the blonde in contemplation. This caused Yang to fidget under the other girl's scrutiny, and she began to rub the back of her head in apprehension. The way in which Blake's amber gaze would pierce into her eyes made Yang feel a little restless. She then jumped slightly when Blake decided to finally pipe up.

"So what did you guys talk about? It seemed like you were getting really close there."

Yang's eyes widened in panic, but then she replaced her expression with one of nonchalance. "Oh, nothing _important_ ; it was just some amicable sports-talk and whatnot!"

Suddenly, Blake mumbled something under her breath but Yang didn't exactly catch it. She leaned in a little, and quirked an eyebrow at the Faunus girl.

"I'm sorry, what did you say Blake?"

The Faunus girl mumbled a little bit louder, but Yang _still_ couldn't hear the girl. It didn't help that the new song that was playing in the background was a loud pop song. She opted to lean down a little closer to the dark-haired Faunus, and questioned her again.

"Blake, I'm sorry. But I really can't hear you!" Yang half-yelled over the music. "D-Do you wanna go outside an-W-Whoa!" The blonde yelped out in utter surprise when the Faunus girl before her roughly grabbed her by the shoulders, and basically _forced_ her into straddling her lap. Yang could feel that her face immediately reddened at the sudden change in the other girl's demeanour. Blake was acting more assertive, and honestly? Yang _loved_ it. However, that didn't exactly take away from the blonde's initial, bashful reaction. She gave the Faunus girl a questioning look.

Suddenly, the blonde visibly shivered when the other girl's hands made their way towards her hips. This caused Yang to push herself even closer to the Cat-Faunus under her; to the point where she could basically feel Blake's breath on her skin. She then watched as Blake sighed heavily; almost in annoyance. She gasped when the Faunus girl leaned in dangerously close towards the blonde, and soon, there were no visibly empty spaces between them. The only exception was the space between their lips.

"I _said_ : you're _my_ date, Yang."

The blonde tilted her head in confusion at the Faunus girl.

"W-Wait, what are you-mmff!"

Yang didn't have any time to finish her sentence as the girl beneath her trapped her lips in a kiss. Initially, the Faunus girl took Yang by surprise but she effectively recovered from the other girl's actions, and. The blonde immediately melted into it, and wrapped her arms around the other girl's shoulders. She could basically feel the other girl's raw emotion through her lips. The kiss was passionate, but possessive; and, much to the blonde's slight disappointment, it left as soon as it came. Yang could feel that she was breathing heavily, and still had a residual warmth on her cheeks. She stared down at the Faunus girl, who simply smirked back up at her.

"I just wanted to remind you of that fact."

Yang simply nodded lamely at Blake's statement; as she was still trying to process what just happened. "U-Uh, I-er... Yup. Got your message. Loud and clear."

Blake replied by giggling a little at the blonde's words, but then she gave her a lopsided smile.

"Well, my mom should be picking me up soon... I promised her I'd be done at around 10:30PM" The Faunus girl began. Yang silently nodded yet again at the Faunus girl's words, and continued to sit on the girl's lap like an idiot.

"Umm... I understand if you're comfortable but, Yang?"

Suddenly, Yang realized how much of an idiot she was being and jumped right out of Blake's lap. She laughed a little _too_ hard at her own absent-mindedness and just let the laughter awkwardly trail off because she had no idea _what else_ to do at that point. She then watched as Blake stood up from the bleacher bench, while giving her a brilliant smile. The blonde almost gasped in awe at how downright _beautiful_ Blake was in that moment. The differently-coloured hues of the lights from the ceiling complemented her overall dark demeanour. The girl's smile also had an almost _feral_ sense of seductiveness laced within it. Her eyes held an unexplainable, impassive possessiveness towards Yang; and the blonde was completely weak against it.

Well, not like she was fighting it; if anything, she _wanted_ to see more of Blake's assertive side.

 _Oh man... I wanna kiss her again._

"I'll see you around, Yang. Thanks for inviting me, I had a lot of fun."

"Y-Yeah! I had a lot of fun too, Blake. Next time, it'll just be the two of us. So we won't have any interruptions..." Yang replied.

Blake smiled radiantly at that.

"Yeah. Next time."

* * *

When Blake finally left the gymnasium, she immediately covered her face with her hands.

She felt that her cheeks were burning in absolute bashfulness when her mind finally registered what she did. She let out a little whine, and laughed a little at herself. Her arms went limp, and continued to walk towards the parking lot that was outside of the gym.

 _Oh god, I can't believe I just did that._

Her hand then slowly made it's way to her lips, and she let out a small smile.

"Taste's like strawberries..."

* * *

 **LOOOL I hope you guys enjoyed reading that as much as I did writing it! My goodness I can't believe how far this fic has actually gone! You guys really are the real OG's xP Seriously, thanks for reading, favouriting, and leaving reviews. It means a lot to me that there are people actually enjoying the story! I hope you guys are having a good semester/week/year so far~**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Well Hellooooooo again my dear readers! Here is Chapter 25 for y'all!**

* * *

Kali gave the girls across the table an amused smile as she observed them while they ate their food. As a treat, the Belladonna woman decided to take Blake and Weiss out for breakfast in a small restaurant downtown. It was called the _Forever Fall_ _Grill,_ and they were best known for their signature red syrup. People would order it with either french toast or pancakes, and it was absolutely sublime! Kali remembered that whenever she'd go here with Vi, the white-haired woman would basically order the syrup by the _gallon_ and-!

 _Oh jeez..._

The dark-haired woman could feel that her face fell once she began thinking about the Schnee Matron. For the past week or so, Kali had been actively distracting herself from thinking about Vi; but she learned the hard way that the seemingly simple task was impossible for her to do. She wouldn't go as far to say that she didn't have feelings for the Schnee Matron anymore; no, it was the complete opposite. Being around Viktoria reminded Kali just how much she _loved_ her. It took all of Kali's willpower to not just march up the Schnee estate, and snatch the woman away from Jacques in a dramatic sweep of-!

"Oh my goodness!" Weiss suddenly exclaimed, jolting the Faunus woman back to reality. "This red syrup is _so good!_ Is there any way that we can bring some back home, Kali?!"

Kali smiled at the young girl, and let out a little laugh.

 _She is literally a carbon copy of her mother..._

"Unfortunately this establishment is pretty strict about bringing the Red Syrup home," Kali replied with a small smile.

Weiss briefly slumped in disappointment at that piece of information, but then perked up. "Maybe we can sneak some out in a jar and-!"

"Already tried that with your mother when we were teenagers." Kali deadpanned. She then smiled nostalgically. "We almost got banned because of that..."

Blake chuckled, "What's with you and almost getting banned from restaurants?" The Belladonna woman playfully rolled her eyes at the Faunus girl and was about to quip back at her, but was interrupted by the white-haired girl sitting next to her daughter.

"What's with you and suddenly liking strawberries?" Weiss interjected, "you _hate_ strawberries..."

Kali then watched in amusement as Blake defensively protected her strawberry shortcake with a fork. "I've _grown_ to like them..." The Faunus girl replied as she narrowed her eyes towards the former heiress. "So stop eyeing my food! I know how much you like strawberries!"

"I am _not_ eyeing your food!"

"Are _too!_ "

Weiss scoffed, "oh real _mature,_ Blake."

Blake aggressively shoved a whipped-cream covered strawberry into her mouth, and began muffling her retort towards the white-haired girl. "I objecf _th_ to that _stath_ men _th_!" the Faunus girl exclaimed.

Kali had to bite down the smile that threatened to form on her face as she watched her daughter basically spit whipped cream into the former heiress' face. Weiss then wiped a piece of whipped cream off of her cheek in disgust, and gave Blake a wildly unimpressed look. Blake simply responded by shrugging unapologetically, and continued to eat her crepe in bliss.

Kali then raised an eyebrow when her daughter let out a small, satisfied moan as she ate her food. Apparently, Blake _loved_ strawberries... which was strange, considering that the child wasn't too fond of sweet things when she was growing up.

All was silent for a brief moment, but then Weiss decided to get one last remark in. She turned her body to face the Faunus girl next to her, and leaned her head against her hand with a sly smile. "If you're practicing for Yang, then I'd say that you're doing a pretty good job, Blake."

The Faunus _girl_ simply tilted her head in confusion at Weiss' statement. Whereas the Faunus _woman_ had to control the laughter that was threatening to bubble from her chest, as she caught on to what the white-haired girl was insinuating.

"Although, I do have a few pointers..." Weiss continued on.

At this point, Kali could see that Blake was getting visibly annoyed from not knowing what the white-haired girl was trying to tell her. She saw that her daughter was about to open her mouth to question Weiss, but then the Schnee girl beat her to it.

"Try raising your pitch a little more the next time you take a bite out of that strawberry shortcake," Weiss teased, "so when Yang takes a bite out _your_ shortcake, you'll know how to sound."

Kali reacted immediately from the words that came out of the former heiress' mouth. Despite the joke being directed at her own daughter's expense, the Belladonna woman couldn't help but laugh at the rather vulgar statement that the white-haired girl made. Blake, on the other hand, was immediately engulfed in utter embarrassment when she finally realized what Weiss was trying to say. Her face was completely covered in a bashful blush, and soon, she resembled the strawberries that were placed on her plate. The Faunus girl then gave Weiss an embarrassed, but baleful expression as she crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Oh and _I'm_ the immature one!"

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Yes... Yes you ar- _did you just flick whipped cream at me?!_ "

"Maybe I did or maybe I didn't."

"Blake, you're being ridiculous!"

It was Blake's turn to roll her eyes, "Well, you're being _annoying_!"

The former heiress huffed at that, "Am _not_!"

"Are _too!_ "

Kali decided to intervene at that point. The girls were both standing by the table, and leaning menacingly towards each other with their palms flat on the tabletop. Blake towered over the small Schnee, but that didn't stop the white-haired girl from sneering right back up at her. The Belladonna woman noticed all the stares that their table was receiving from all the commotion that the girls were causing. She mentally face-palmed at the prospect of _these_ _two_ being the reason that she gets banned from the restaurant.

The Belladonna woman clicked her tongue, and the two teenagers immediately stopped their bickering to turn their heads towards her. "Girls..." Kali warned. Weiss and Blake instantly replied with their own sounds of protests towards the Faunus woman, and accusations of blaming towards each other. The Belladonna woman was not having it, and made a statement by slamming a hand on the table. This action caused the girls to shut their mouths once again, and the dark-haired woman could see that they both visibly gulped.

"If you both don't stop this instant, I will take the red syrup and strawberries away!" Kali threatened, "and I'll eat them for myself!"

This effectively got both the girls to stop their bickering, and they begrudgingly sat down with their arms crossed. Kali hmm'd in satisfaction, and watched them as they continued to eat their respective breakfasts. However, the Faunus woman then tilted her head in thought and then smiled deviously towards the young girls in front of her.

 _I forgot to ask them about their dates..._

The Faunus woman picked the them up so late last night that the thought of pestering them about their dates didn't even cross her mind. But now that she was with them and not sleep deprived from a meeting with a bunch of snooty old men...

Kali leaned forward on the table, and rested her chin against her hands. "So... tell me about your _daates_..."

This sudden prompt caused the white-and-black haired duo to choke on their respective foods. The Faunus woman watched in amusement as they both beat their fists against their chests in an attempt to relieve their lungs from the shock of her question. Her smile widened when she saw that the both of them began to blush profusely after they got over their little coughing episodes; and the woman concluded that they both probably had... _eventful_ evenings.

However, before either of the girls could sputter out a response, Kali could sense a figure approaching them from her periphery.

"What's this about a _date_?"

The Faunus woman turned her head, and was pleasantly surprised when she found that it was Winter who had approached them. "Oh! Winter! When did you get here? If I had known that you were back, I would have invited you to join us for breakfast."

Winter simply smiled at Kali and waved her hand dismissively, "Oh don't worry about it, Kali. I came back pretty late last night and I didn't want to impose. I was actually going to meet a... _friend_ here this morning." The Faunus woman quirked an eyebrow at the pause that the white-haired woman made when she mentioned her _friend_. And she felt the corners of her lips twitch upwards at the prospect at meeting Winter's so called _friend_. However, before Kali could invite Winter and her mysterious friend to join them, the girl's little sister had chimed in.

"Oh? Is it someone from work?" Weiss innocently questioned. Winter shook her head, "it's not anything military-related. E-Erm...I'm just meeting with an old friend from Beacon."

Weiss tilted her head at that, "You had _friends_ when you went to the Academy?" Both Blake and Kali snickered at the rather rude question. Winter, on the other hand, huffed in embarrassment and smacked the back of her younger sister's head.

"Watch it, Weiss..."

"O-Ow! I-I mean-!" Weiss backtracked as she rubbed the back of her head, "I don't recall you ever bringing any of your friends to the estate when we were growing up! So I just assumed..."

Winter raised an eyebrow at the girl, "assumed _what_?"

"N-Nothing!"

"That's what I _thought_."

Kali observed as the young white-haired woman perked up marginally when she saw someone walk through the restaurants front entrance. She nodded at the person in acknowledgement, and then turned her head once again towards Kali and the girls. "Well... it would seem that my friend _finally_ arrived." The Faunus woman noted the slight annoyance in Winter's voice when she declared that statement. Out of curiosity, Kali turned her head towards the general area in which Winter's 'friend' would be. Her eyes widened in surprise when she could make out the familiar broad back of a certain _Branwen_ sitting at one of the tables near a large window. She then whipped her head back towards Winter with a questioning, but amused gaze.

Winter shifted uncomfortably under Kali's scrutiny, but then coughed to hide any residual feelings of discomfort that she felt towards the Faunus woman's silent prying. She cleared her throat, "W-Well... I'll see you guys later back at home." Before anybody could offer their own goodbyes, the white-haired woman had already left to go sit with her... _friend_.

Kali shook her head, and smiled deviously yet again. The Faunus woman didn't mean to assume... but knowing Qrow's nature, she felt that the relationship between the young woman and the Branwen might have been more than platonic.

 _Oh Vi is going to KILL Qrow if she finds out about this..._

 _"M-Mother?!"_

Kali jolted in surprise when the young Schnee in front of her basically yelled out to her mother. She then followed the young girl's line of vision and saw that Viktoria was, in fact _,_ standing at _Forever Fall Grill's_ front entrance. She didn't seem to notice her youngest daughter's sudden exclamation. After a moment's hesitation, Kali lifted her hand up to wave the woman over, but then stopped when she saw the look of utter _rage_ that the woman displayed. The Faunus woman turned her head towards the direction of the Schnee Matron's glare, and was met with a rather intimate scene...

One of which included one Qrow Branwen, and Vi's very much _younger_ daughter, Winter Schnee.

The man was tucking a couple strands behind the young woman's ear; and the Schnee girl responded by huffing a bit while blushing profusely at the gesture. Kali had to admit that it was a rather cute scene. But she felt that Vi probably didn't feel the same way. Well... judging by the murderous look in the woman's eyes, Kali would guess that the Schnee Matron was completely against what was happening between the Branwen man and her daughter. Whatever _that_ was...

Kali then watched as the Schnee Matron began _storming_ her way towards the unsuspecting duo. Before the Faunus woman knew it, she had already began to briskly walk to their general direction to prevent Qrow's pending death. She heard Blake and Weiss call out to her, but she was too focused on protecting an old friend.

" _Qrow!_ _"_ Viktoria bellowed as she stomped towards his table.

Qrow simply whipped his head around, and shrank under the woman's _death stare. "W-Wha-?"_

"You _slimy_ son-of-a _bitch!_ Get away from my daughter-AHH!" The Schnee screamed when Kali grabbed her to hold her back. She then began to struggle against the Belladonna woman's grip, and Kali actually hissed out in pain when Vi elbowed her in the stomach.

"Agh! _Shit_ , Vi! Calm down, it's just me!"

Viktoria's anger immediately diffused when she seemed to recognize Kali's voice. She abruptly turned around to face the Belladonna Matron, and she _briefly_ gave the dark-haired woman an apologetic expression. However, that look was replaced by an expression of utter annoyance and slight betrayal. Before Kali knew it, she was being smacked on the arm.

" _Youch!_ Vi, what the heck!?"

"Oh don't 'what the heck' _me!_ " She then turned her body and raised her hand to attack Qrow.

 _Smack_!

" _OUCH_?!" Qrow exclaimed as he rubbed the back of his head. Vi turned back around to face Kali, and the Faunus woman actually braced herself for another smack. Viktoria rolled her eyes at the woman's defensive stance, and crossed her arms in defiance. " _Qrow_ should be the one being 'What the heck'd!'" the Schnee Matron exclaimed, "Winter is _way_ too young for him!"

At that last statement, Winter's face was immediately engulfed in a warm flush. Qrow, on the other hand, began to guffaw at the Schnee woman's assumption. "Ahahaha! Oh God, _Ice Queen_! You couldn't be more off-target with that conclusion!" He grabbed at his stomach while he continued to topple over in a fit of laughter.

 _Both_ of the Schnee women rolled their eyes at Qrow's rather childish behaviour; while Kali watched on in unadulterated amusement.

He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye, and let his laughter trail off. "I mean, the _Ice Soldier_ is pretty cute and all..." Kali didn't fail to notice the slight, pink tinge that returned to Winter's face when he called her 'cute.' "But your kid isn't exactly my cup of... _Iced_ tea... y'know what I'm saying?"

Viktoria groaned at the Branwen man's words; but Kali had a feeling that she was more annoyed at the idiotic _ice_ puns that he integrated into his response. The Schnee woman then pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily. " _Alright_ , so if you aren't courting my daughter then _why_ are you here with her?"

"Well, mother. He's here because I requested his services." Winter finally chimed in. Kali raised an eyebrow at the young Schnee woman's words.

 _Why would Winter need a PI?_

"And _I'm_ here because...?"

"Because what he _found_ has to do with _you_." the young white-haired woman answered.

There was a heavy silence that ensued after Winter stated that fact, and Kali took that as her cue to leave. "Well..." Kali began, "I'll get out of your hair, seeing as this seems to be a _personal_ matter." Both of the Schnee women quirked a brow at the Belladonna Matron's botched attempt at leaving smoothly. But she payed them no mind, and briskly walked away towards her daughter and Weiss.

The young black-and-white duo were simply giving her questioning looks. She answered them by shrugging, and made the executive decision of diverting their attention by stating that they were leaving. Both of the girls protested to the woman's declaration, but she grabbed the both of them and whisked them away - out of the restaurant.

"My Strawberry Shortcake!"

"The Red Syrup!"

Kali rolled her eyes playfully, and dragged them away. As she continued to basically drag the struggling girls down the sidewalk, her thoughts drifted back towards the situation that occurred at _Forever Fall Grill_.

 _Winter has some explaining to do..._

* * *

"Oh you have some _explaining_ to do, Velv!"

Velvet openly groaned at the boisterous blonde sitting at the bar's counter. The Rabbit-Faunus had completely forgotten that Ruby and Yang usually had breakfast at _The Red Reaper's_ on Saturdays! So when she came down to the pub with a sleepy Coco in tow, the sisters jaws literally dropped to the floor. Velvet assumed that the fire-reminiscent girls thought that Velvet took part in rather _vulgar_ activities with the fashionista the night prior.

"Don't forget our waffles, sweetie!"

Another wave of embarrassment engulfed the brown-haired Faunus when Summer reminded her of their order.

 _Oh my God! Raven and Summer saw Coco too!_

"Coming right up, Summer!" Velvet squeaked out. She then turned around towards the kitchen counter to get their orders before anyone else could say anything. However, the hope of leaving the Rose-Branwen family undetected was too good to be true when the redheaded woman's wife chimed in. "Oh! and we'll be wanting to hear about last night's... _endeavours_ too, Velv!" Raven remarked.

"We want to know _all_ of the juicy details!" Ruby quickly added with a teasing smirk.

Velvet inwardly whined. "R-Right..." the Rabbit-Faunus couldn't even take a step before another person decided to integrate themselves into the conversation.

"Ooooh if you want a juicy detail, I can tell you that I _did_ hear some screaming coming from upstairs while I was on my shift!" a certain, annoying _giant_ unnecessarily chimed in.

Yang began to holler in encouragement towards the brown-haired Faunus when Yatsuhashi made that _stupid_ statement; and her dark-haired mother amicably joined her. Summer let out a little laugh, and stared at Velvet with a teasing smirk. Ruby, on the other hand, found it hard to maintain eye contact with the Rabbit-Faunus and was blushing profusely at what Yatsuhashi insinuated with his words.

Velvet, much like Ruby, also had her own cheeks engulfed in a similar flush. Her eyes widened in embarrassment, but then she turned to give the tall boy a baleful look. The Rabbit-Faunus whined.

"Yaaatsu!"

Yatsuhashi held his arms up in defence, " _What_? I'm just telling them what I _heard_ coming from your home last night!" The Rose-Branwen family let out a collective laugh when he defended himself. And even Junior, who somehow snuck his way into the kitchen/bar area, chuckled at their antics too.

Velvet groaned and exasperatedly threw her arms up in the air. She was glad that Coco had immediately left the pub when she saw the others. The Faunus girl didn't know if she could handle it if they were _both_ being teased by their audience at the same time.

"We were watching a _horror movie_!"

The tall line cook rolled his eyes at the brown-haired Faunus girl, "Riiiiight..." he droned, totally unconvinced. Velvet crossed her arms and returned that eye roll. She then remembered that she had to get everybody's orders, and she huffed at her massive friend. "D-Do your job and go get their waffles!" Yatsuhashi simply smirked while he mock-saluted towards the Rabbit-Faunus, and he ducked back into the kitchen to get the Rose-Branwen's waffles.

Velvet shook her head and leaned against the kitchen counter while she waited for her friends orders. Her mind drifted back to the morning, and she could feel that a ghost of a smile made its way onto her face. The fashionista was so endearingly _adorable_ when she was sleepy! And Velvet was secretly happy that she was probably the only one who ever got to see that side of her. She then slightly reprimanded herself for her next thoughts about the fashionista...

She also didn't mind seeing the brown-haired girl's shirt ride up while she shifted on top of her as she slept. Despite the fashionista's absolute hate for phys-ed, Velvet had to admit that she was... _toned_.

"Thinking of something _dirty_?"

The Rabbit-Faunus jumped a little when Yang made that remark. She then processed what the girl was implying and she turned her head to give the blonde an unamused look. However, before she could quip back at her blonde friend, the girl's hyperactive mother decided to chime in.

"If it makes you feel any better, Velvet... Yang here dented Blake's door during her date yesterday~" the redheaded woman mentioned with a singsongy voice.

"M-Mom?!"

"And~" Raven added, "Ruby totally macked on Weiss at the weapon's shop."

Ruby reddened at her mother's decision to disclose such information. "M-Ma!?"

Velvet, who was thoroughly amused by these sudden revelations, stared at the sisters with a quirked brow. They simply responded by laughing nervously, while diverting eye contact with her. The Rabbit Faunus smirked.

"Oh... and _I'm_ the one who's got _explaining_ to do?"

Summer and Raven laughed.

* * *

"So are you actually going to _explain_ what you found, or will you two keep me guessing?"

Viktoria began to tap her index finger against the top of the table in annoyance. She had a feeling that Qrow and Winter were meddling into her affairs because she somewhat _knew_ the line of work that the Branwen man took part in.

Qrow sighed and leaned into his chair.

"Viktoria, I found your father."

Viktoria scoffed at that piece of information, "What makes you think that I don't know where that man is? I'm aware that he's in a specialized care facility and-!"

"Mother..." Winter interrupted. The Schnee Matron didn't like the uneasiness present in her daughter's voice. "T-That's where you're wrong. Grandpa Nicholas isn't in a facility that cares for the elderly..." Viktoria narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the pair that was sitting across from her. She honestly did not like where this conversation was going. And she also didn't know why they thought that she would care enough to want to know where Nicholas was. They _both_ more or less so knew what happened between her and her father.

"Vi..." Qrow began, "he's admitted at _The Callows_..."

The Schnee Matron was genuinely taken aback at that revelation. _The Callows_ was essentially an insane asylum for those who had completely lost their minds. And she also knew that rehabilitation was _far_ from the goal that the facility had in mind for the patients that were admitted there. Regardless of that fact, she steeled herself into displaying an indifferent expression and was about to make a remark about her father's whereabouts. But then Qrow tossed a file with some papers inside of it on the table. The file slid to a stop right in front of Viktoria, and she stared at it in apprehension.

"It's your father's patient file. You're not going to like it."

Viktoria furrowed her brows at the man's words, and her gaze slowly made its way towards the intruding papers placed in front of her. She then wordlessly took the file and began to read its contents.

 _Patient: Nicholas Schnee  
_ _Age (at time of admission): 57 y.o  
_ _Race: Atlesian descent  
_ _Blood Type: O  
Diagnosis (Publicly known): Age-related Brain Deterioration  
_ _Diagnosis' (Official)_ : _Irradium Dust exposure_ ; _Irradium Dust Addiction; Insanity and Deterioration of the Mind attributed to prolonged exposure to Irradium Dust; Hallucinations/Delusions; Overly aggressi-_

"My father did _not_ have a problem with addiction."

Viktoria tried to state those words as evenly as she could when she shut the file. The Schnee Matron could feel that she was shaking from all the new bits and pieces of information that was being thrown at her. She wasn't daft enough to actually believe that they were trying to tell her that Nicholas had an _addiction_ problem. She also knew what Winter and Qrow were trying to insinuate with all of this nonsense!

Jacques was a horrible human being... but _this..._

"Viktoria..." Qrow stated with a stern voice. She jumped slightly in her chair when he addressed her abruptly, but then she levelled her gaze with the man before her.

The Branwen man sighed once again,

"Jacques poisoned your father with Irradium Dust."

* * *

 **And so the plot thickens...**

 **LOL hope you guys enjoyed the pure fluffiness while it lasted~  
ahahahaha**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	26. Chapter 26

**HELLO INTERNET FRIENDS! I am back from the dead and here to present you another chapter :D Enjoy you adorable humans.**

* * *

Viktoria was sure that her daughter called out for her as she borderline _ran_ from her seat at the restaurant, but she completely ignored it. She needed to get out of there. She needed to think, to properly collect her thoughts. She needed to _breathe_. The white-haired woman inwardly let out a frustrated scream.

She needed a _fucking drink._

When Viktoria left the _Forever Fall Grill_ , she began to aimlessly walk around in downtown Vale. At first, the white-haired woman felt fine, but then her mind wandered towards the deep-rooted fears and anxieties that she had regarding her situation.

Initially, when Qrow and Winter told her about Jacques' scheme she felt like she could finally fight back against the man. She thought she could build a case against him, and get _everything_ that she lost from him. However, once she thought about it, the hopelessness of it all became overwhelming.

Who would even _believe_ it?

Sure, they had the documented proof of what Jacques presumably did to her father... but over the past couple of decades, the man had made some _serious_ connections with many people. Some which could easily cover up the deplorable man's actions. She quickly realized that they had no actual power over him. _She_ had no power over him.

Soon, Viktoria could feel herself slipping.

A wave of dread slowly began to engulf the Schnee Matron when all she could hear was the faint sound of white-noise - a ringing, quietly buzzing in her ears. She could vaguely sense the conversations from the people around her, but everything came out muffled. She couldn't make heads or tails of what _anyone_ was saying, and that caused her to become disoriented. Suddenly, Viktoria felt that her breathing became erratic, and her vision had blurred - if it was because she was crying or light-headed, she didn't know. All she knew was that she wanted it all to _stop._ The people around her transformed into blurs of vibrantly-coloured movements. She could make out the silhouettes of the people in her immediate vicinity, but couldn't properly focus on what they looked like. The white-haired woman didn't even know that she ceased walking until a stranger accidentally rammed right into her back.

She _saw_ that the young man that walked into her was apologizing, but she couldn't hear a thing. The buzzing in her ears became borderline _painful_ , as it transformed into a high-pitched sound that completely took over her auditory senses. Viktoria clutched at her head in an attempt to ease the panic that was taking over her entire body. She had her hands covering her ears, trying to drown out the persistent buzzing that was causing her distress. The young man before her seemed concerned, and was about to place his hand on her shoulder, but was stopped by another person.

Initially, the white-haired woman couldn't decipher who it was. However, she recognized the new man's voice when she began to focus on what the two people before her were saying. She furrowed her brows in confusion.

 _Qrow?_

"Don't worry about her, I'll take care of it. I'm her friend." Qrow reassured the stranger. Without even waiting for the other man's response, Qrow turned towards Viktoria, and began to calmly address her. "Hey... Vi? I know that you're having an episode right now." The dark-haired man began, "so lets get you to a place near the sidewalk where its less crowded. Are you able to move? If not, then it's fine. I'll stay right here with you."

Viktoria opened her mouth to reply to her old friend, but all that came out was a choked-out sound. Her hands began to shake against her ears in widespread panic, and soon she found it difficult to even breathe. Before she became completely swallowed in utter hysteria, she suddenly felt the other man's hands gently cover her own. He kept her at arms length, but still firmly held her head between his hands. The Schnee Matron's eyes immediately focused on Qrow's face, and she saw nothing but empathy and a sense of calm emanate from his expression.

"Vi, focus on _me._ Okay? You don't need to say anything, just nod or shake your head for 'yes' or 'no.'" Qrow instructed. "Now... are you able to move to the sidewalk?"

After a couple of _deep_ breaths, Viktoria slowly nodded.

Qrow slightly smiled at her cooperation, "Alright, I'm going to guide you there. Is that okay?"

Viktoria silently nodded once more.

Soon, she felt the dark-haired man gently wrap a secure arm around her shoulders, and she followed him as he guided her to the outskirts of the sidewalk. They came to a stop and when she looked up, all she could see was a brick wall. She immediately crouched down towards the ground and continued to face it. They were probably standing in front of a convenience store or something. Viktoria didn't care to check, and opted to focus on the linings and cement that held the wall together. Her hands were still covering her ears as the high-pitched sound was still there, but it was now slightly muted.

She sensed that Qrow had crouched down beside her, with his back against the wall.

"I'm _right here_ , Vi. I'm not going anywhere, and I will _stay_ until this is over."

Viktoria let out a ragged breath, but nonetheless nodded at Qrow's words.

The Schnee Matron slowly took in a deep breath, and let it out. She repeated this process countless times while she engraved the image of the brick wall into her mind. She didn't know when, but the buzzing within her ears had ceased and her vision became more clearer. She no longer felt light-headed, and her breathing had more or less so became even. She wiped her eyes to get rid of some residual tears.

Viktoria let out a laboured sigh, and she finally felt her voice return.

"How long was it?"

Qrow cocked his head to the side to indicate that he heard her. He then let out a sigh of relief.

"About an hour and a half, " he answered as he continued to stare ahead.

" _damn it_."

There was a brief silence that followed, and Viktoria had a feeling that Qrow was carefully thinking about what he was going to say next. She also knew that he wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily, and ask about the 'episode' that she just had. After knowing the man for as long as Viktoria did, she knew that Qrow was one to get straight to the point.

"So you still have those episodes, eh?"

A snarky remark was on the tip of the woman's tongue, but then she decided against it. She was _too tired_ to fight with anyone at this point. Viktoria exhaled sharply, and turned around so her back would be against the brick wall too. Like Qrow, she had her legs stretched out with her arms limp on her lap. They probably looked like they were junkies, but she didn't care.

"Yeah... I do."

"Do they happen often?"

Viktoria actually thought about that a little bit. When she was a little kid, they would occur randomly; and sometimes a stressor wouldn't even need to be present to send her over the edge. However, they got worse when she was a teenager. During those years she always kept herself in check and would find a private place to try and calm herself down. Although, she did remember a time when she had an episode in the Academy's cafeteria; Kali was the one who helped her through it. In fact, what Qrow did just now was exactly the same as what the Faunus woman did when she had that episode all those years ago-

 _Oh... He remembered that time, and just mimicked what Kali did back then._

"After Beacon they didn't occur much" Viktoria finally answered. Then she sighed and decided to go on with her explanation. "that was only because I drowned out every sense of cognitive ability that I had with any type of alcohol I could get my hands on."

"Vi..."

"I'm not going to go into the details about it, Qrow." The Schnee Matron interjected, "It's just that if anyone could relate to the effects of alcoholism on the psyche, it would be you."

Qrow hissed at the jab that she made about his alcoholism, but she knew that he didn't take it to heart. She didn't mean to insult him, and she was sure that he was aware of that too. It was just... in terms of bottling unwanted emotions and thoughts inside, she knew that she related to the Branwen man the most in that regard. Even as teenagers they both held some unspoken bond between them when it came to their rather unhealthy coping mechanisms. They both had demons they wanted to keep locked away. And they both understood and respected each other enough to not pry unless it was wanted.

 _Pop!_

Viktoria quirked a brow at the sound and turned her head to face her dark-haired friend. She was met with Qrow popping open his small hand-held flask, and watched as he took a swig. He saw that the white-haired woman was staring and offered her the flask. She stared at the thing momentarily; well.. that was before she thought-

 _Fuck it._

Viktoria snatched the flask out of Qrow's hand and took a gulp of whatever the hell it was that the man drank. She immediately felt the alcohol burn as it travelled down her throat. The white-haired woman coughed a little, and then swatted Qrow's hand away when he made an attempt to grab at the flask. He laughed and decided to not push it, and opted to observe the Schnee Matron while she drank.

She took a smaller swig from the flask again, but this time, the alcohol didn't burn as much as it went down. She never actually cared for the taste of it; she just wanted to feel its effects. Soon, her vision became a little hazy and everything seemed to slow down. _Okay... this is fine._ Viktoria then handed back the flask to Qrow, who was giving the Schnee woman a look between incredulousness and awe.

"You just drank a quarter of a flask of Ambrosia dust-infused alcohol. A drink that any normal person would only sip like once every twelve hours." The Branwen man stated with amusement, "You took two large gulps in the span of ten seconds."

" _Ambrosia dust-infused-!_ Oh my GOD, Qrow. You might as well have given me liquid Irradium! Why do you even _have_ Ambrosia? And _where_ do you even get it!?"

He placed the flask into his shirt pocket and smiled at the Schnee woman.

"Like you, I drink to forget. And as for the second question: I ain't no snitch."

She snorted at that, "Right."

Again, there was silence and they both stared blankly ahead at the crowded streets of Downtown Vale.

"Qrow?"

"Hm?"

Viktoria sighed, as she knew that she was going to regret the next decision that she was going to make.

"Take me to the nearest bar. If I'm going to regress, then I might as well do it with concoctions that _aren't_ illegal."

Qrow let out a little laugh, "Alright but if things get out of hand, I'm calling sis."

"Whatever."

The dark-haired man slowly got up and offered a hand to Viktoria. She gratefully took it, and then fully felt the effects of the Ambrosia when she stood up. The Schnee Matron silently cursed the Branwen man when he thought it was a good idea to _not_ disclose that she was drinking one of the heaviest drinks in all of Remnant. The fucking liquid was _illegal_ for Gods sake!

She rubbed her temples to ease the disorientation caused by the conflicting emotions that she felt as a result of her decisions and the alcohol.

"Lets go."

* * *

Coco rubbed her temples in annoyance at the incessant stares and suggestive smiles that she was receiving from two certain sisters. Currently, the fashionista was attending their second period history class with her eccentric friend group on a Monday morning. Both Ruby and Yang were sitting on either side of her, with their respective partners (Blake and Weiss) seated at their other sides. Their Cat-Faunus friend had her head down on her desk, and appeared to be sleeping. Weiss, on the other hand, seemed to be invested in what professor Oobleck was saying. However, the fashionista did notice that the girl's attention was slowly being diverted to what the sisters were doing with slight interest.

The brown-haired girl's gaze briefly found it's way to a specific _Rabbit-Faunus_ who strategically chose to sit at the _very front_ of the class to avoid this situation. A twinge of betrayal suddenly hit the fashionista, as Velvet essentially _abandoned_ her during this trying time.

The said fashionista then grunted when she felt the blonde on her right poke at her arm. "Ey... Eyyyyy?" Yang questioned as she wiggled her eyebrows at the brown-haired girl. Shortly after, Ruby joined her older sister and began nudging Coco on her left side. Coco could feel that her left eye was twitching marginally at their relentless interrogation.

"C'mooon, Coco. Tell us what happened!" Ruby whined, "Velvet won't budge at all!"

Coco crossed her arms, and stood her ground. "Then neither will I!"

"Laaaame!" the hyperactive girl, rather loudly, exclaimed. Yang boo'd in response to the fashionista's lack of cooperation.

For the rest of the lecture, Coco simply steeled herself into tuning the two sisters out as professor Oobleck droned on about the History of Mistral. Eventually, the bell for their next class rang, and Coco let out a breath of relief. The fashionista then jumped slightly in her chair when the redhead on her left shot up from her own seat. She continued to watch as Ruby proceeded to drag the former heiress out of the classroom. The said former heiress seemed to initially protest the jumpy girl's actions, but when Ruby whispered something in Weiss' ear, Coco saw that the girl flushed and became compliant. A small smile reached the fashionista's face when she also saw that Weiss _continued_ to hold onto Ruby's hand as they left the lecture hall.

"Blaaake?"

Coco turned her head to face the blonde that was whispering to her slumbering Cat-Faunus friend. The fashionista was surprised that Blake was even asleep during class... but then she remembered that the new book to the weird erotica series that the Cat-Faunus _loved_ just recently came out. She mentally shook her head as she _knew_ that Blake probably stayed up all night reading it.

 _I have no idea how she can read that filth._

"Blaaakey? C'mon, class just ended..." Yang continued to quietly coax, but to no avail. Coco then observed as the blonde began to lightly poke at the other girl's face. The fashionista smirked when she saw that Blake let out a rather adorable, and uncharacteristic whine in response to the blonde's actions. Yang simply grinned from ear to ear and continued to try and wake the Faunus girl up.

Coco's eyes slowly widened in shock when she saw that Yang started to stroke Blake's Faunus ears. The fashionista's body tensed up as she anticipated a violent response from the dark-haired girl. However, Coco's jaw went slack when she heard the faint, and familiar vibrations of a _purr_ come from Blake's chest.

Yang and Coco froze in place, and they both helplessly watched as Blake's eyes slowly began to open. At first, Blake sprawled her arms across the desk and she stretched out her back. She let out a little yawn, and appeared to be dazed for a moment. The dark-haired Faunus then quirked a brow at the blonde, who still had her hand against her ear.

Suddenly, it appeared that Blake finally processed what just happened, and the entirety of her face burned bright with a familiar warm flush. Her posture went ramrod straight, and her eyes widened in utter embarrassment. The fashionista continued to observe as the Faunus girl opened her mouth to say something, but then Yang swiftly stopped her by _kissing_ Blake on the cheek.

Coco's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and it would seem that the Faunus girl reacted similarly too.

Yang gave Blake a toothy grin, "Heh.. well, see ya later Blake!"

Neither of the girls could even elicit a response, as the blonde promptly left before they could do so. Blake simply sat there in shocked awe, whereas the fashionista gave the Faunus girl an amused sidelong glance.

"Well..."

"Don't!" Blake exclaimed as she shoved a hand right in front of Coco's face.

"I was just going to say-!"

"I don't wanna hear it, Coco!"

The brown-haired girl raised her arms up in surrender at Blake's outburst. She smirked, "whatever..."

They both continued to leave the lecture hall in silence; with Blake scratching her head every so often when the events during their history class replayed in her head. Coco, on the other hand, had a perpetual smirk plastered on her face as she thought about her Faunus friend's reactions. She had _all_ of lunch break to tease her about what happened during the last few minutes of Oobleck's history lecture. Suddenly, the fashionista tilted her head in confusion when she realized one thing...

 _Where's Weiss?_

Before she could actually say what was on her mind, the fashionista's silent question became answered when she saw Weiss waiting for them at the end of the hallway. At first, it seemed like nothing was out of the ordinary with their grumpy white-haired friend. That is... until they got closer and Coco noticed the subtle telltale signs of dishevelment on the former heiress. She mentally shook her head as she had a feeling that a certain redhead was the cause of Weiss' slightly disordered appearance. As they neared the white-haired girl, Coco's smirk widened to a wicked smile when she saw a small, bluish mark near the girl's collarbone.

"Took you guys long enough..." Weiss stated evenly as she fell in step with the other two. Coco continued to smile at the girl, " _you_ should have taken your time with recovering from what you were doing with Ruby because..." the fashionista poked at Weiss' wrongly buttoned navy blue blazer, "it shows."

The former heiress instantly blushed, and swatted Coco's hand away while she redid the buttons on her blazer. Before the girl could make a retort, their Faunus friend decided to chime in.

"You should do something about that hickey too, Weiss." Blake added with amusement. Weiss' eyes widened in horror at the Faunus girl's observation, and she promptly took a pocket mirror out of her blazer. When she saw that there was, indeed, a blemish left on her collarbone, Weiss groaned out loud.

"Dammit, Ruby..." the white-haired girl muttered.

"Wow she works _fast_." Blake joked; mostly alluding to the hyperactive redhead's innate, quick nature.

"And apparently she likes to get _frisky._ " The fashionista added. Weiss rolled her eyes and crossed her arms at that, "Oh don't tease _me_ about getting frisky, Coco. I _know_ that you stayed at Velvet's overnight! Ruby told me."

It was Coco's turn to redden in embarrassment. She inwardly groaned because they didn't even _do_ anything remotely... crude! They literally just ate dinner, and watched a horror movie while they cuddled. Velvet only kissed her on the _freaking cheek_ for Oum's sake!

"We didn't do anything _vulgar_ like you're suggesting!"

Both Blake and Weiss tilted their heads at that. Coco took their questioning silence as a cue to go on, "Yeah, all we did was cuddle on her couch, and she only kissed me on the cheek. So stop suggesting that we did anything _sexual_!" When Coco disclosed this information, she was met with silence once again. She inwardly let out a breath of relief, but then was confused when her two so-called _friends_ began laughing at her.

"Wha?"

"Wait..." Weiss interrupted, "You mean you didn't even make a move on Velvet or anything?!"

"We at least did _something_ with Ruby and Yang..." Blake joined in as she stared at the fashionista with unadulterated mirth. Soon, Coco was blushing for a whole other reason and she mentally face-palmed.

"Agh! I'm not gonna win with you two! Let's just go to gym class!"

Her two friends silently agreed with Coco's statement by offering her their own respective shit-eating grins.

Coco simply led the way by _stomping_ grumpily towards their athletics class.

 _I should've known that they wouldn't let me live this down!_

* * *

"Well that's kind of a let down..."

Velvet rolled her eyes at Ruby's response to the Rabbit-Faunus' recalling of the date that she had with Coco. Yang obnoxiously raspberried at Velvet's story, and continued to stick her tongue out at the Faunus girl. "That's _boooring_!"

"The last time I checked, the events of my life weren't specifically made for your _entertainment,_ Yang." The brown-haired Faunus droned. Yang shrugged unapologetically, and then offered Velvet one of her signature grins. "Someone must have forgotten to give you the memo."

Velvet shook her head good-naturedly, and proceeded to get up from the table they were sitting at. Yang quirked a brow at her, "you're not gonna stay and chill for the rest of the lunch break? We were gonna go bug Blake and the others..." The Rabbit-Faunus perked up at the blonde's suggestion, but then she reminded herself to _not_ get distracted. The main reason as to why the brown-haired Faunus talked to Oobleck after class was so she could have more time to hand in their paper. Unlike the Rose-Xiao Long sisters, it actually took Velvet quite a bit of time to get assignments done. Ruby was a natural-born genius, whereas Yang was actually _really_ good at staying on top of her assignments! When she focused, she could totally get the job done in time. Despite the girl's rather 'jockish' demeanour, Yang was super smart.

Their intellect was one of the things that the Rabbit-Faunus envied.

"I'm gonna have to pass this time, Yang. Oobleck already gave me an extension on our History paper, and I want to hand that in as soon as possible." Velvet replied as she scratched the back of her head, "I'm going to the library to do some more research."

Ruby deflated at that, "Oh... okay, we'll see you after school then!"

"Oh don't wait up on me," Yang added, "I have to train after school for the Vytal festival."

Velvet took a mental note of what the sisters told her, and parted ways. Just as she was about to leave the cafeteria, she bumped into a certain fashionista; who incidentally was grumpily stalking away from the other two girls of her trio. Blake and Weiss simply stared at the two brown-haired girls with silent mirth.

"Whoa! Coco, are you okay?"

Coco seemed to snap out of her mood, "I-! What? Yeah, Velv. I'm good." Velvet didn't fail to hear the collective snickers coming from the monochrome duo behind the fashionista. The Rabbit-Faunus inwardly groaned, as she had a feeling that Coco told them about their date. Much like Ruby and Yang, they were probably giving her a hard time for the 'lack of action' that the said date contained. Also, by the looks of it, the fashionista seemed to be at her wits end with the other two.

"Well... I'm heading to the library right now..." Velvet trailed off, hoping that Coco would catch on to the escape that she was offering her. It would seem that the fashionista did catch on, and she gave the Faunus girl a thankful smile, "Why don't I join you, then. I need a couple of books for our next business report anyways."

"Cool! Lets go." And with that, the two brown-haired girls left the monochrome duo; who both gave the girls bemused looks as they walked away.

The walk towards the library was quiet, but comfortable. They walked side by side, with their shoulders and arms brushing against each other every once in a while. However, neither of them made a move to actually _hold_ the other girl's hand. When they finally made it to the massive library, Velvet silently made her way towards the history section with Coco in tow. As they neared the book section that they became well acquainted with, the fashionista next to her playfully groaned.

"Just when I thought I was free from this place..."

Velvet giggled at that, "you know... you didn't actually have to come with me. You just seemed like you needed a way out from those two."

"Wha? No, I don't _not_ want to be here with you!"

The Rabbit-Faunus blushed at Coco's sudden, rather loud, exclamation.

"Erm r-right. G-Glad to know that, Coco." Velvet then turned her body to face the book shelves, and she began to scan them to find what she needed for her history paper. The brown-haired fashionista simply opted to lean against the bookshelf in embarrassed silence. The Rabbit-Faunus pulled out a book to hide the shit-eating grin that made its way on her face. It was honestly way too cute when Coco acted like this. Suddenly, Velvet shook her head when she knew that she was getting sidetracked quickly got over the fashionista's adorable side. The brown-haired Faunus returned to her task, and for a while they stayed like this; with Velvet scouring the History Section for the right books and Coco diligently following her.

Soon, Velvet could feel that Coco was getting bored, and decided to strike up a conversation with her.

"So... what were Weiss and Blake teasing you about?"

The fashionista perked up at the Faunus girl's attempt to talk to her. "Oh... they were being annoying about our d-date..."

Velvet nodded in understanding, "Yeah Rubes and Yang were giving me a hard time about that too"

Coco laughed awkwardly at that, "I imagine that they did." Velvet joined her in laughter, "Yeah! But it's not like its _entirely_ their business!" she pointed out.

"Right? Blake and Weiss were acting as if it was a crime that I _only_ kissed you on the cheek!" The fashionista exclaimed, "teasing me about how I ' _missed my target_ ' and blah blah blah!"

The Rabbit-Faunus laughed at that. Well... until she realized one thing.

She kissed Coco on the cheek while she was _asleep_.

At least... she _thought_ that the girl was asleep.

Velvet immediately stopped laughing, and became utterly embarrassed from the revelation that she just had.

 _OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod..._

 _Coco was freaking awake when I kissed her!_

"Coco-oomf!" Velvet couldn't even finish her sentence before the fashionista all but shoved a history book in her face. The brown-haired Faunus furrowed her brows in confusion as Coco continued to hold the book up. But she decided to wait until Coco actually explained _why_ exactly she essentially smacked her in the face with a History book.

"Uh! This book seems like it'd help you with your report!"

"R-Right." Velvet muffled from behind the book. She then slowly took the book out of the fashionista's hands and placed it in her book bag. However, once her gaze rested back onto the brown-haired girl before her, Velvet had to calm the fluttering within her chest that threatened to manifest itself into a squeal. Currently, the entirety of Coco's face was engulfed in a bashful blush and it seemed like she was having a _very hard_ time with maintaining eye contact with the Rabbit-Faunus. The said Rabbit-Faunus just thought that Coco was being irresistibly _cute._

Before she knew it, Velvet had pinned the unsuspecting fashionista against the History Section.

"E-Er, Velv-mff!"

Velvet interrupted the girl with a chaste kiss. It was short, and sweet; and the Faunus girl noted that Coco's lips tasted like freshly ground coffee. When she pulled away, she couldn't help but smile at the bashful shock that Coco displayed.

"Now you can tell them that you didn't miss your target."

The fashionista blushed yet again, "R-Right."

 _Heh... Cute._

The Faunus girl's smile widened, and she turned around to hide it. "Well... I've got everything I need." She tilted her head to the side, "Do you?"

Coco seemed to snap out of it and began answering her. "I-I'm good!" she squeaked, "Totally good! G-Great, even!"

"Well then lets head to the checkout desk." Velvet suggested as she began to walk towards the said checkout area. The fashionista quickly followed.

"Alright."

As they tried to navigate throughout the labyrinth that was Beacon's library, Velvet could feel Coco's arm brushing against hers again. However, once their hands touched, Coco had tentatively began to hold the Faunus girl's hand in her own. Velvet smiled once again, and squeezed the fashionista's hand in some form of affirmation.

 _Ha! Now Yang and Ruby can't annoy me about this anymore!_

She then looked down at their conjoined hands.

 _And... now I've got an adorable girlfriend! Well, at least I think she's my girlfriend. Ugh, whatever I'll clarify with her some other time!_

Well... she knew one thing for a fact.

She _did_ just kiss a really cute girl.

* * *

 **B-B-Booooom. Hope you guys liked it! How's everybody's holidays going so far? It's going aight for me :P**

 **There were implications of an anxiety/panic attack occurring in this chap, and I hope I don't accidentally put anyone off with the way I described it. I did do some research about the phenomena, and if I did end up offending/making anybody uncomfortable then I sincerely apologize!**

 **Also, prepare yourselves for the next couple of chapters! I hope you guys are still liking it so far! I can't thank you guys enough for the support you have all been giving me throughout the fic! Imma try to be consistent with my updates [lol the keyword there being _try_ ;)]**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	27. Chapter 27

***In Scar's singing voice* Be Prepaaaaared!**

 **Lol, enjoy you wonderful humans :P**

* * *

Ruby had always been an affectionate person; be it with friends, family, romantic partners - she didn't really have a sense of spatial awareness. And most of the people that knew her were cool with that. It was basically a part of her personality and it'd be weird if she _didn't_ cling onto a person that she really liked.

But with Weiss it was different.

At least she could tell that it was. It was kind of creeping onto the possessive side, if she was being honest with herself. But who could _freaking_ blame her! Before she actually started 'dating' or 'whatever-ing' Weiss, all Ruby would focus on _was_ the former heiress. However, when the hyperactive redhead actually started to take in her surroundings, she began noticing the longing gazes that boys and girls alike would basically _throw_ at the white-haired girl. She mostly understood and even empathized with them, though. Weiss was an absolute beauty! But that didn't change the fact that it _bugged_ Ruby to no end.

She didn't really know when, but soon, Ruby found that she'd always be casually touching/holding the former heiress whenever she could. Or you know... leaving hickeys where people could ever so slightly see them.

 _Weiss is MY Doltfri-Girlfriend...thing!_

Even now, she was absentmindedly rubbing circles on the small of the white-haired girl's back as she and Blake recalled their teasing of Coco. Ruby inwardly smiled when the said former heiress _let_ her continue with her small, affectionate touches. She then let out a goofy grin when Weiss briefly looked back at her with a small smile while she was talking about the brown-haired duo.

The four of them were currently sitting at one of the tables in the cafeteria, with Blake and Yang sitting across from them. The bumblebee pair were also sitting relatively close to each other, with Yang leaning close to the Faunus girls side as she continued to make fun of the fashionista.

"They're both on their way to the library right now." Weiss informed them with a tinge of amusement.

Yang began to wiggle her eyebrows at that, "Oooh do you think that they're going to get it on?"

"Brute! We're at school. Who in their right minds would want to do _that_ here?"

"That didn't seem to stop _you_ from getting it on with my sister..."

Before either Ruby or Weiss could sputter out a response, the blonde reached over the table and poked at Weiss' collarbone. Weiss swatted Yang's hand away and blushed like crazy. She then turned her head and gave Ruby a look that seemed to scream ' _SAY_ _something, anything!_ ', but all the redhead could do was make incoherent sounds from her mouth. Eventually, Ruby just opted to scratch the back of her head while grinning awkwardly towards everybody at the table.

Weiss face-palmed, "Dolt..."

"Hehe... I'm _your_ Dolt...?"

The former heiress simply grunted in some weird form of agreement at that. Ruby only knew that Weiss agreed with her because she had a ghost of a smile plastered on her face before she elicited the sound. However, before the redhead could basically trap the other girl in a tight embrace, the school bell had rung. She could physically feel that she deflated from that, because this was the time of day when everyone pretty much split apart to take their specialized courses. Well... Weiss, Coco and Blake pretty much had the exact same schedule. They were business kids.

Ruby, Yang, and Velv, on the other hand, _didn't_ have any classes together during the second half of the school day. It was understandable, seeing as they all were studying under different sectors, but it still didn't take away from the fact that it _sucked_ sometimes. Granted, Ruby _did_ make some new friends. And by some, she meant two.

Penny and Jaune.

She thought they were cool... even awesome! But they weren't Weiss.

"Welp, that's our cue to go, guys!" Yang suddenly exclaimed. Blake gave her an amused look, "You seem pretty pumped up..."

"Well _duh_..." Yang then booped the Faunus girl on the nose, "The Vytal Festival is coming up! I'm totally ready to kick some _butt_!"

"Right..."

Suddenly, Ruby watched as Yang perked up. "Hey! Why don't you guys watch our team's practice after school?"

The redhead shrugged at that, "Sure."

She was going to watch it anyways.

"Well..." Weiss began, "I suppose it won't be a _complete_ waste of time."

Ruby smiled at that. _She could've just said yes... she's so cute when she acts like she's not interested in something! It's too obvious!_

Then, out of nowhere, Blake leaned over and kissed Yang on the cheek. "We'll see you after school, then."

Before her sister could even retaliate, the Faunus girl had already begun walking away. Soon, Ruby also felt Weiss peck her own cheek, and she watched as the white-haired girl wordlessly left to catch up with Blake. The two sisters simply sat there in silence, with big goofy grins plastered on their faces.

" _Man_ , how _lucky_ are we?" Yang suddenly piped up as she raised her hand to fist bump Ruby.

Ruby continued to smile as she met her sister halfway.

"Yeah... we're pretty lucky."

* * *

 _How could I be this unlucky!?_

Velvet continued her task as she was being scrutinized by the guest teacher that her photography editing class had for the day. She _may_ have spent a little more time fooling around with Coco after their kiss in the library. And by 'fooling around' she meant that they took their _damn time_ getting to their next classes; opting to tread leisurely on their own pace and talk about total nonsense - while they continued to walk hand-in-hand. They even took goofy photos of each other on Velvet's camera! Which was actually pretty fun... but _still!_

Anyways, as a result, the brown-haired Faunus entered her photography editing class rather late, and somehow caught the eye of the guest teacher.

She missed the man's introduction, but apparently he was a pretty big deal in the world of Arts; which was why she was so intimidated by the fact that he was basically _breathing_ down her neck while she did her work. The fact that he was so well-dressed didn't really make things easier, either. She saw that he sported a white turtleneck along with a slick black blazer jacket. He matched the outfit with some black slacks, and wore a grey fedora hat. On anybody else, the hat would look ridiculous. But it seemed to suit this man perfectly. He also wore a pair of retro glasses to top off the whole look. Overall, he seemed like one of those high-end, fashion types. So she didn't want to disappoint.

The students were currently editing glam shots that they took of random volunteer models a couple of days back. The Rabbit-Faunus decided to go with black-and-white editing style for this particular project. It was very reminiscent to the vintage editing styles of the past; and Velvet quite liked it, really. It was simple, but sophisticated.

"You have talent."

Velvet jumped a little at the sudden comment. She then turned to face the guest teacher and smiled, albeit a little awkwardly.

"I-erm... Thank you, sir."

The man leaned over her shoulder, and stared her computer screen down; scrutinizing every detail that she made on the photo. He nodded in approval.

"Your editing style pays homage to the vintage era of photography and photo editing without being obtrusive. I'm impressed."

 _Okay this is getting a little too awkward for me..._

She continued to smile at the man, "Thank you, sir."

"Do you mind if I take a look at some of the photos that you took on your camera?" he politely asked. Velvet wasted no time, and basically shoved the camera in the man's hands. If he was as important as everyone said he was, then she would obviously want him to see some of her work!

"Of course! Help yourself!"

The man then turned her camera on, and wordlessly went through her photos. However, after a couple of moments, Velvet realized one thing:

 _AH! I forgot to delete the goofy photos of me and Coco on it_!

"AH! A-Ahem!" Velvet tried to hide her panic by clearing her throat. The man just gave her an amused look as he continued to look at the photos with an expression of fondness. The Rabbit-Faunus could also sense that there was something else lying beneath his eyes. If she would guess, she'd say that it was...

 _Regret?_

Velvet quickly snapped out of it, and continued to address the issue at hand. "P-Please disregard the most recent photos of my erm... _friend_ and I! We were just goofing off and took a bunch of photos together. My apologies for the unprofessionalism, sir."

He simply smiled down at Velvet and handed her camera back. "Don't worry about it, my friend. Although, I have to say, you authentically caught the beauty of that girl in your photos. They're stunning."

"Well... the fact that she's a beautiful girl also helps, too..."

The guest teacher gave her an amused expression, and a familiar but playful glint shone in his eyes.

"You speak of her fondly..."

Velvet mentally stuck her foot in her mouth.

 _Why the HELL am I gushing over my girlfriend in front of this total stranger!_

"I-er, Aheh- _Well-!"_

"What is your name, child?"

Velvet gulped, "Erm... Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina."

The man smiled at the Rabbit-Faunus yet again, "Velvet... I'll remember that." and with that, he finally walked away to watch what the other students were doing on their screens. Soon, the Faunus girl let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. However, before she could get back to her work, she suddenly felt the sensation of a playful punch being aimed at her right arm.

"Duuude!"

"Youch! May?! What the heck?" Velvet exclaimed as she turned towards her beanie-clad friend, rubbing the arm that the girl basically assaulted. Out of nowhere, one of Velvet's other photo buddies chimed in.

"You, my friend, were just praised by the headmaster of _Remnant Arts_." Dew stated, rather blandly.

If Velvet had a drink in her mouth she would've done a spit take.

Instead, her eyes basically popped out of their sockets and her jaw dropped. Her friend Dew held amusement in her eyes and went to shut the Rabbit-Faunus' jaw with her hand. Shortly after, the dirty-blonde girl went back to her work, but she still gave the Faunus girl a sidelong glance. The girl seemed to be waiting for the Rabbit-Faunus to verbally react to the piece of information that she just gave her.

After a moment of pure shock, Velvet finally uttered one phrase.

"Holy _shit_."

May laughed at her reaction, "Yup."

" _That's_ -?"

Dew nodded.

" _Holy shit!"_ Velvet exclaimed, yet again. "I didn't know that the headmaster of _Remnant Arts_ was so _young_!"

"Well... it _is_ a relatively new institute. It's only been around for like twenty years..." Dew informed her, as if it were common knowledge.

May playfully poked Velvet's cheek, "Y'know, for a person who constantly _gushes_ about wanting to go there, one would think that you'd at least know the guy who runs it!"

Velvet swatted at her friend's hand, and crossed her arms indignantly at her playful jab. "I only ever focused on their photography program!"

"Well... your dream of attending that program might actually come true," Dew stated with amusement, "He seems to take a liking to your work."

The Rabbit-Faunus simply smiled at that. She was aware that she had some skill with the camera; but to be praised by the man who created the Arts empire that was _Remnant Arts?_ Well.. it would be an understatement to say that she was on cloud nine at the moment. For the rest of the class, the Faunus girl had continued doing her work; completely elated at the fact that _someone_ from her all-time favourite Arts institute actually acknowledged her.

 _Ooooh I need to tell the guys about this!_

Suddenly, the brown-haired Faunus was jolted back to reality when their photography T.A, Nebula, clapped her hands to get everybody's attention. Velvet, along with her friends, stopped what they were doing and faced the front of the class. Shortly after, everybody in the room piped down and listened attentively to what the T.A and the guest teacher had to say. The guest teacher decided to go first.

"There is, without a doubt, a select few among you who have talent with the camera," the man began. At that statement, Velvet could feel that May had dug her finger into her side while she giggled. The Faunus girl swatted at the other girl's hand, yet again, and _shushed!_ her. She then turned her attention back to the man at the front. Her eyes widened in surprise when he met her gaze, and he continued to hold it as he spoke.

"I have decided that I will be scouting new talent for my institute here, at Beacon Academy." He suddenly announced, "There are students here who have shown exceptional ability and untapped potential that I plan on facilitating to reaching newfound heights! I look forward to working with you all, and I hope to build professional relationships with you on the foundations of Art!" and with that, the entire class began cheering. It was a rather short, but uplifting speech. Well... with the man who created the most prestigious Arts school in the _world_ praising the class, it would be _weird_ if a person didn't feel even a little encouraged by that.

Even Velvet found herself clapping.

The man then took his fedora hat off, and playfully bowed; which elicited some good-natured laughs. However, Velvet immediately stopped clapping when she saw the man's slick, _coffee-brown_ hair. With the hat on, she couldn't really see the man's hair colour that well. But now that it was off... she started putting two-and-two together. Soon, the Rabbit-Faunus finally realized _why_ the man seemed so familiar.

"Everybody! Give a hand to Maxwell du Manoir!"

 _That's... Coco's father._

"Holy _shit._ "

* * *

"Shit!"

Yang looked everywhere in her gym bag for her handwraps. She kind of needed them to start practicing with the team. From her peripheral vision, she could see that Pyrrha and Sun were giving her amused looks, but she ignored them and treaded on with her task. Shortly after she rummaged through the bag, the blonde got frustrated and rather loudly emptied the contents of her gym bag onto the floor to see if she just missed it with her hand.

 _Nope. They're not in here_.

"Xiao Long! Don't make a mess of the training room!" Coach Ironwood hollered from the other side of the massive room, "and hurry up!"

The blonde kick-boxer smiled awkwardly at her coach, and rubbed the back of her head. "Heh, Sorry! I'll go see if I got spare hand wraps in my locker!" Ironwood simply shook his head at that, but nonetheless gestured for her to go. She began walking towards the girls locker room, but then let out a grin when she heard a couple of familiar voices yell at her from the far side of the room.

"I gotta say, I'm _already_ impressed, Yang!" A certain Cat-Faunus playfully yelled from the bleachers.

"Gooo sis!"

"She... She didn't even do anything yet."

Yang turned her head to face Blake and the others. And she offered them a shit-eating grin while flexing her left arm.

"Babe... you ain't seen nothing yet!"

Her grin transformed into a full-blown smile when she _saw_ that the Faunus girl was checking out her physique. The blonde was glad that she decided to show off more of her toned body for this practice. Well... it wasn't that much of a change from what she usually wore to the practices, though. Yang was just wearing her usual black sports bra and loose shorts. However, it wasn't everyday that Blake would see her in such a way. So the blonde was pretty happy at the moment.

Blake seemed to snap out of it when the former heiress slapped her shoulder out of amusement. The Faunus girl finally realized what she was doing, and a warm flush engulfed the entirety of her face. The blonde simply continued to smile and walked into the double doors that led to the girls changing room.

 _Heh... she's actually really cute when she expresses herself more._

Before she could dwell on the thought of her cute Faunus girlfriend-thing (she still needed to clear things up with the Faunus girl), she quickly slapped her cheeks and made a beeline for her gym locker. She didn't want to be on the receiving end of Coach Ironwood's lectures about 'discipline' and 'punctuality' or whatever. She'd rather just practice with her teammates in peace.

When she finally reached the grey, metal box of evil that _sometimes_ cooperated with her, she mentally prayed.

 _God... Please let this metal box of evil actually open for me._

She began to struggle with the lock, but soon found that she was giving up. She sighed with resignation, but then the hairs on the back of her neck began standing up.

Suddenly, Yang sensed that someone was behind her, and instinctively ducked her head down. Her eyes widened in shock when the person behind her had left a hefty dent on her locker, and she jumped back and held a defensive stance. When she recognized the massive guy who basically tried to bludgeon her head in, she began to panic.

"T-Taurus?!"

The guy was a _fucking maniac_! He was vice-captain of the guys kick-boxing team, and was monstrously strong. Yang and many of the other team members absolutely _hated_ him; mostly because he was a White-Fang fanatic who openly voiced his disdain for humans. Many have tried to reason, and befriend the guy before, but if she was being honest - the guy was a total asshole. Unfortunately, his obvious racism wasn't enough to bar him from the team. Yang would never admit this out loud, but Adam was talented.

Adam smirked at the blonde, "What's up, Yang?"

"This is the _girl's_ locker room- WHOA!" Yang quickly dodged to the left when the Bull Faunus tried to take a jab at her, right in the face. She jumped back again, and lifted her arms up in a defensive stance.

"Why don't we settle this in the ring, eh?" the blonde tried to coax.

 _Why the hell is he-?!_

"I'd rather not."

" _Why_ are you-?!" she couldn't even finish her sentence. Before she knew it, the Bull-Faunus' hands had wrapped around her neck and she was fighting to grasp for air. Yang's vision began to blur, and her hearing became muffled. She also felt that there were tears welling up in her eyes.

 _Is he going to kill me!?_

She tried to claw at the other boy's arms, but she could barely find the strength to do it. She didn't know if she was hallucinating from the lack of oxygen or not, but she began to hear another voice in the room.

" _A..Adam! S-S..top!"_ The new voice yelled.

 _I-Ilya?_

Adam roughly dropped the blonde on the ground, and she doubled over on all fours; coughing her lungs out, and gasping for air. She continued to listen to them as she tried to recover from what happened. Their voices seemed distant and were still slightly muffled, but the blonde could kind of make out what they were saying.

" _Christ, Adam! I jus... wanted..you- scare her! Not commit..murder!"_

Yang could feel that she was starting to black out. She could only take in certain parts of what the two Faunus' were saying above her. However, before she could pass out, Adam roughly grabbed her by the collar and forced her to look at him.

" _H..ey... Hey..._ Hey!"

Yang focused on the Bull-Faunus' face, and almost winced at the unadulterated anger that was being directed at her.

"Don't even _think_ about telling anybody what happened here."

The blonde responded by spitting in his face. In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best course of action that she could've taken... but she was _pissed_.

Adam simply wiped the spit off his face and sneered at her. "You're a tough girl, eh?" Yang glared at him. If looks could kill, Adam would've been dead like five minutes ago.

He then smiled wickedly, "I wonder if _Blake_ is as tough a girl as you are."

The blonde's expression transformed into one of panic. She tried to verbally respond to the psychotic Bull-Faunus, but all that came out were strangled noises. It was also ridiculously painful to even _try_ to talk. She grabbed at her throat, and concluded that Adam totally jacked it up.

"Good. _Stay_ quiet."

Yang's entire world went black, and she felt a sharp pain at her left arm.

She screamed.

* * *

 **DUNN DUNN DUNNNNN**

 **Welp, that was a chapter.**

 **Also, Yes: I did name Coco's dad Maxwell House (Although, du Manoir is translated to 'the country house', but you know what I'm trying to do with the name xD) I do not regret it, and it actually makes me giggle a little. :P**

 **I hope you guys are still enjoying the story!**

 **And I hope your upcoming semesters are going well :D Happy 2018 y'all!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Whaaaaat another chapter the next DAY!? Also, yeah Ik this one's a little shorter but here *shoves it into your hands* I present this chapter to you.**

* * *

 _BAM!_

Viktoria slammed her glass down against the bar table, yet again; and exhaled loudly from downing her drink in under six seconds. She welcomed the familiar, warm feeling that she always got whenever she ingested any kind of alcoholic beverage, and sighed in content. As she continued to drink, everything around her seemed to blur and everyone's voices got all jumbled up together. She didn't know how long they've been at this bar. All she remembered after drinking Qrow's Ambrosia was passing out, and then waking up in the upstairs guest bedroom of this place. Viktoria didn't even know what day it was.

However, from what she could tell, the bar joint that Qrow decided to take them was a rather seedy place. It was dimly lit, and everything seemed to be falling apart; with the exception of the bar. There were wooden tables riddled all over the place, with chairs either poorly tucked in or haphazardly knocked over on the ground. Normally, Viktoria wouldn't be caught dead in such an establishment. But today wasn't exactly a _normal_ day for the Schnee woman.

"Oh my god she drank that all in one go..."

"Yeah I _did_!" the white-haired woman boasted. Her exclamation was followed by a number cheers from the rest of the people who were also drinking at the bar. She soon found herself joining them with their hollering and nonsense. This particular relapse was unlike any other she had before. When she'd drink herself into a stupor in the past, she'd always be alone; but now, she was surrounded by like-minded people who probably had issues of their own. And the Schnee woman _knew_ that these people had issues because who else would be drinking this much in the middle of the _freaking day_.

Regardless of being surrounded by similar people, the Schnee Matron still felt miserable.

"Oh they're _all_ going to _kill_ me," Qrow suddenly muttered under his breath, "Kali, Summer, Raven... and then Kali, _again_. Shit, maybe even your kids might kill me too."

Viktoria boisterously laughed at that, "Well... you might as well _drink up_ , Qrow!" The man simply responded by half-heartedly raising his own drink and then sipping it modestly. The Schnee Matron furrowed her brows at the man, seeing that he was being a _total party pooper_ at the moment. However, in the back of her mind, she knew that it would be wise if at least _one_ of them would stay sober. But it sure as hell _wasn't_ going to be Viktoria!

She was going to drink until she forgot _everything_.

She wanted to forget her problems.

She wanted to forget her bastard of a husband.

Hell, she even wanted to forget her own fucking _name_.

 _I don't want to be Viktoria Schnee for a while_...

Viktoria then waved the bartender down for the umpteenth time, and he happily obliged by sliding another strong alcoholic drink right in front of her. Just as she was about to bring the glass up to her lips, she felt Qrow firmly place a hand on her wrist; preventing her from actually _drinking_ the beverage.

"Vi... lets pace ourselves here..."

The Schnee Matron suddenly felt irrationally angry towards the man, and began threatening him through gritted teeth. She could feel that the arm holding her drink started to shake, as the two of them began to struggle against each other.

"Branwen... if you don't take your _damn hands_ off of my drink, I'll _fucking-_!"

Qrow grunted, "You'll what _, Ice Queen?_ "

Viktoria slammed the glass against the table at that _stupid_ nickname. She was surprised that it didn't break with how hard she actually brought the glass down. From her peripheral vision, she could tell that some of their bar mates winced at the sudden commotion, but she ignored their discomfort with their escalating situation. She full on glared at the man beside her.

" _Qrow..."_ Viktoria growled.

"I'm not telling you to stop. I'm just telling you to slow down!" Qrow basically yelled at her, "Christ, Vi! You're going to get alcohol poisoning!"

"Oh Fuck _off_! I'll do whatever the hell I want!"

The Branwen man rolled his eyes, "Fucking _typical_..."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing, Vi..." Qrow scoffed in defeat, "Just keep on doing 'whatever the hell you want' like you _always do_."

Something seemed to snap in Viktoria. Like _hell_ she was going to be lectured here today; by Qrow of all people. She could feel that her body began to shake with anger, and her jaw had set. She tried to alleviate her raging emotions by taking deep breaths, but it was too late for her to stay calm. Soon, all she could see was red; and she knew that she was going to regret what she was going to say to the man beside her.

"Oh _you're_ going to tell _me_ about how I 'do whatever the hell I want,' Qrow? That's rich, coming from _you_ "

She saw that Qrow tried to stay calm. Because he _knew_ where she was going with this argument. "Vi..."

"I mean, you did 'whatever the hell' you wanted, and look where that landed your _fucking sister_ for ten years!" Before Viktoria knew it, she was laughing scornfully towards the man.

And she hated it.

She absolutely hated it.

But she didn't know how to stop.

All of these bad thoughts just came spewing out, and she couldn't do anything about it.

"Ha! She had to go to _prison_ because _you_ couldn't step up to the plate for your _fucking family_! She went to prison because of _you_!" she then smiled wickedly, "and don't get me started about _Tai-_ "

 _WHAM_!

* * *

 _WHAM!_

Qrow brought his fist down against the bar counter with so much force that he actually made a few cracks on it. Viktoria's mocking expression transformed to one of neutrality and she started to analyze him. He had his teeth gritted in anger, with his hair covering his eyes. Qrow was trying desperately to take deep breaths to calm himself down. He didn't want to escalate the situation needlessly. He felt a throbbing radiate from his right fist, and noted that it was badly bruised and slightly bloodied.

 _Well... that's broken_.

Suddenly, he grabbed at Viktoria's wrist again. He saw that the Schnee Matron winced from the pain by his death grip. But he didn't really care if he was hurting her at the moment. He had a _broken_ hand now because of this woman.

"I'm taking you out of this place, Vi." He stated evenly, "I can see why your kid doesn't want you drinking this stuff. You _change_ int _\- SHIT_!" Qrow jumped from his chair and held his arms up at his sides when Viktoria splashed her drink all over his clothes. He then jumped back again when the woman smashed the glass against the ground, right next to his feet.

"Then leave me the _fuck alone_!" she screamed, "don't talk to me about my _fucking children!_ I already _know!_ "

"That's _it!_ I'm calling Kal and them!"

He stomped out of the bar before he could subject himself to more of the white-haired woman's verbal abuse.

Qrow then whipped his scroll out, and dialed Kali's number.

The scroll rang at least three times before the Faunus woman picked up.

" _Hello, Qrow?"_

"Hey Kal... umm, it's about Vi..."

Qrow inwardly groaned.

 _I'm such a fucking idiot._

* * *

Kali stormed through the crowds of downtown Vale with her two friends in tow. She could feel that she was shaking; if it was from anger or fear, she didn't know. All The Faunus woman knew was that she was _frustrated._

"Your brother's a _fucking idiot_."

Raven laughed humourlessly at that, "I agree."

Before they could continue to dwell on the Branwen man's _absolute stupidity_ , Kali suddenly saw the bar in view.

 _Off all the places he could've brought the woman, he brings her to Tuksons!_

Her eyes then narrowed at the _stupid man_ who somehow thought it was a good idea to bring a chronic alcoholic to a bar. As the neared the facility, she saw that Qrow shrunk under her angered gaze. He opened his mouth to try and explain himself.

"K-Kal, I-!"

Kali wordlessly pushed passed him, and slammed the bar door open. Before the door had closed again, she caught a glimpse of the earful that Raven and Summer were giving him. Their argument outside of the bar became muffled, and soon forgotten when the Faunus woman remembered just _why_ she was at this deplorable establishment. Her eyes scanned the place, and she quickly found the familiar sight of the Schnee Matron's white hair. Kali noted that she was situated at the bar counter, downing some more of that liquid _poison_ that the Faunus woman hated so much.

The Belladonna woman began storming her way towards the unsuspecting Schnee. Once she reached the drunken woman, she roughly grabbed her by the arm without warning. Initially, the Schnee Matron struggled against her, but when she realized who Kali was she stopped.

"K-Kali!? What are you doing her-AGH!"

Kali yanked the woman out of her chair and dragged her out of the bar. When they left the establishment, the Faunus woman completely ignored their friends waiting outside for them, and opted to pull the Schnee woman near a secluded area down the street. They seemed to have gotten the memo, and decided to wait for the two women in front of the bar.

"O-Ow! Kali- Shit-! STOP that _fucking hurts_!" Viktoria yelled as she ripped her arm away from Kali's grasp. However, she used a little too much force to get away from the Faunus woman's grip, and ended up stumbling against the brick wall to their right. Kali immediately went to help the white-haired woman up; she felt a tinge of guilt when she saw that she kind of bruised Viktoria's arm.

Regardless... it still didn't take away from the fact that she was _pissed_.

Kali took in a deep breath... and then slowly let it out.

She locked her gaze onto the the woman before her.

"Why."

"What? Kali-"

" _Why._ " Kali's voice began to rise.

"I don't-!"

 _WHAM!_

Kali's fist landed right next to Viktoria's face; hitting the concrete wall behind her. Shortly after, the Faunus woman felt that her right hand began to throb, but she bit through the pain.

 _It's fucking broken..._

She continued to stare the smaller woman down, and begged her with her eyes.

" _WHY!?_ "

Kali wasn't just asking Viktoria why she basically threw a year of sobriety out of the window. Now, she was asking the white-haired woman for so much more than that. She wanted an explanation for _everything_. She wanted an explanation for all of the choices that the other woman made for the past _decade_. All of Kali's frustrations just came pouring out, and she knew it was too late for her to go back now.

Suddenly, Kali stumbled backwards when the Schnee woman roughly pushed her away. She then watched as Viktoria shot her an icy glare.

"I _don't_ need to explain myself to you!"

Kali's anger started to take over and she pushed Viktoria back. Her vision began to blur, but she did nothing to wipe the tears of frustration coming from her eyes. She just let them fall freely while she glared at the _stubborn_ woman before her. " _No_. I'm not going to take that bullshit answer from you any longer, Vi!"

" _Fuck_ you."

"What the _hell_ did I do?!"

"You _LEFT!_ " Viktoria finally screamed. "You fucking _left me_ , Kal! you just _ran away_!" Kali winced when the woman's voice broke. "I had to hear from Rae and Summer that you were _gone_!"

Kali stood there in shocked silence, but then she steeled herself into levelling her gaze towards the Schnee woman.

Viktoria wasn't the only one who was hurt.

She then towered over the Schnee Matron, and let a decade's-worth of pent up frustration out on her.

"Don't you _dare_ start telling me about how _I_ left!" Kali borderline screamed. " _You_ were the one who gave up on our relationship! on _us!_ "

"What-?"

" _You_ were the one who didn't even _try_ to fight back against Jacques!"

"It wasn't that easy-!"

"Oh but _pushing me away_ was?!" Kali all but roared. "Y- _You_ don't get to lecture me about choosing the easy way out! Vi, in the past I've ran away from a lot of things, but our relationship was the one thing- _the one fucking thing_ that I would have _stayed_ and _fought for_!"

Kali's declaration was met with utter silence. Both of the women were completely defeated, and worn out at that point. The Faunus woman used this as an opportunity to wipe away at her frustrated tears, but then she groaned when the pain from her fist began to take over. However, before she could even think about how her hand hurt like _hell_ , the Schnee woman tried to walk away.

The Belladonna Matron stopped her by firmly placing her hands on her shoulders. Viktoria immediately fought back.

"N-No! Let me _go._ " the Schnee woman demanded as she struggled to get out of Kali's grasp.

"I'm not letting you go."

 _Not this time_.

"Kal, _Please_..." Viktoria begged. Something seemed to tear at the Faunus woman's heart when the other woman's voice broke once again. However, Kali was _hellbent_ on solidifying her resolve and held the Schnee woman close. She was going to get her _damn_ point across!

Kali then felt the sensation of the small woman hitting her chest. She grunted at incoming attacks, but her grip on the Schnee never loosened; if anything, she held her tighter.

"Let me _go_!"

The Faunus woman ignored her and rested her chin on top of the other woman's head.

"I said let me _go!"_ Viktoria broke out into a sob, "D-Dammit, K-Kal!"

Kali shut her eyes and just let Viktoria continue with her small assaults. Soon, the two women were sobbing in each others arms; barely even stringing together any coherent words. They just kept on apologizing to each other throughout the entire time, letting the other woman know what had been on their mind for the past _ten years_.

Kali said she was sorry for leaving.

Vi said she was sorry for not fighting back.

Kali let Vi know that there wasn't a single day where she didn't think about her.

Vi admitted that there were days where she would drink herself half to death so she _wouldn't_ think about her.

Kali told Vi about how she wanted to come back.

Vi told Kali about how she wanted to run away with her.

"I _never_ stopped loving you."

Viktoria choked back a sob, "Neither did I."

Kali gently placed her forehead against Viktoria's, and shut her eyes.

"What are we going to do?"

"What you're going to do is go to the hospital with us."

Kali whipped her head towards the new voice, and became worried by what she saw. Next to Raven was a shaken up Summer, clinging on to the dark-haired woman's side. Even the Branwen woman seemed to be out of sorts. She was about to open her mouth to question the dark-haired woman, but she beat her to it.

"Yang's hurt."

* * *

Blake anxiously sat in the waiting room for god knows how long. In the far corner of the room was Ruby and Weiss. The younger redhead had basically cried herself asleep and was currently sleeping against the former heiress' lap. Weiss herself also seemed to be shaken up by the whole ordeal, but still diligently whispered words of comfort towards Ruby as she slept.

Blake, on the other hand, didn't know what to do with herself. Thankfully, her hands stopped shaking a while ago but she still couldn't get the feeling of nausea out of her system. When everybody heard Yang scream from the locker room, they all knew that something was wrong. But when they finally reached the blonde...

The Faunus girl didn't know if she could ever get that image out of her head.

When they found her, Yang's left arm had been bent at a very unnatural angle and she had dark bruises all over her neck. It was obvious that they were hand marks; and the dark-haired Faunus wondered in the back of her mind _who_ would do such a thing to the blonde. By the time they got to her, she almost looked dea-

Blake pinched herself.

 _She's fine, Blake._

She then leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes.

"She' going to be okay."

BAM!

Blake jolted upright when the ER doors slammed right open. She was then met with the image of Summer and Raven, hysterically trying to find out where their daughter was. The Faunus girl's eyes widened in shock when she saw her own mother and Viktoria quickly follow after them; along with a man that she had never seen before.

"M-Mom!"

The Faunus woman immediately turned her head towards her child's voice. Before Blake knew it, her mother was right in front of her, trapping her in a tight embrace. The Faunus girl actually let a few tears out at the gesture. She had never been so scared in her entire life.

"How-?"

"I-I don't know, mom!" Blake's voice suddenly broke, "T-There was blood and her _arm_ -!"

"Shh... Shh... that's enough, Blake."

Blake relaxed a bit when her mother began stroking her hair. However, when the Faunus girl caught a glimpse of the woman's hand, she became worried again.

"What happ-?"

"Broken hand..." her mother interrupted. The Faunus girl's eyes then travelled across the room, and landed on a certain Schnee woman; who seemed to be receiving an IV drip. Next to Viktoria was the man that she saw enter the ER with them, getting his hand checked out by a nurse. They both seemed to be speaking with each other, albeit begrudgingly.

"And Weiss' mom?"

Her mother pondered that for a moment, but then finally sighed.

"Broken liver."

Blake raised an eyebrow at that answer, and turned her gaze towards the former heiress. She was also staring at the Schnee Matron, but was observing her with an unreadable expression. The Faunus girl made a mental note of checking on her friend after this whole situation was over.

But for now...

They were just going to have to wait.

* * *

 **buwahahahahaha**

 **Also: the whole 'Qrow sending Rae to prison' thing will be further explained in the Summer and Raven fanfic prequel that I'm working on ;)**

 **Expect some needlessly dramatic angst for the main girls too ;P or... maybe not. Whoooo knowwwws~**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	29. Chapter 29

***Rises from the dead to give y'all this chapter***

 **LOL enjoy, dear readers!**

* * *

Yang slowly opened her eyes, and let out a little groan.

At first, the blonde felt disoriented by the unfamiliar environment in which she found herself in, but then the events of the locker room began replaying in her mind. So when Yang finally registered where she was, she wasn't too surprised.

When everything around her came into focus, she was greeted with an all too familiar sight of the hospital walls that she grown to hate so much. In the back of her mind, she wondered why the majority of hospitals had such a pale-white colour scheme to them. Well, she understood that the colour was associated with cleanliness... but it still didn't take away from the fact that it made everything seem ten times harsher. Seriously, someone could get a freaking migraine from staring at these walls for too long.

Yang then directed her gaze towards the cast enveloping her left arm. Adam did a tremendously good job of jacking it up. The doctors said that it was a pretty bad fracture, especially considering the fact that it was her freaking forearm that he broke. Apparently, it was going to take like 3 whole months to heal.

Which meant that she wouldn't be able to participate in the Vytal festival in the upcoming week.

She rolled over onto her right side, and sighed.

"How long have I been here, so far?"

Yang didn't even know what day it was. All she knew was that she had been at this horrible place for a couple of days. It wasn't like the hospital staff were rude to her; no, not at all. If anything, the nurses and the doctors at the _Vale Memorial Hospital_ were nothing but caring. It's just... growing up, she had to spend _a lot_ of time in hospitals like this. It kind of brought back some rather bad memories from that part of her childhood.

So... she kind of hated it.

The only thing that prevented the blonde from jumping out the hospital window were her family's frequent visits.

Well... that and Blake's visits too, of course.

 _Especially_ Blake's visits.

 _I wonder if I can get her to feed me strawberry slices agai-_

"You've been here for at least a week, honey." came her mom's sleepy voice.

Yang slowly turned onto her back once again, and faced the groggy woman on her left. A small smile formed on her face when she saw that the rest of her family was sleeping in her room with her. Summer took her place at the foot of Yang's bed, sprawling her upper body onto the general area while sitting on a chair. Behind her redhead mom was Ruby and Raven; both haphazardly lying on the couch. They were more or less so tangled in each others arms.

Yang actually had to stifle a giggle at their current position.

Ruby had her upper body resting against the couch's arm rest, with her head completely unsupported over the edge and her mouth wide open. She had some drool dripping from the side of her mouth, and seemed like she was having a good dream. Her legs were also spread out, with her foot literally sticking right in front of their Ma's face. Their Ma, on the other hand, had a perturbed expression on her face - and Yang had a feeling it was because of Ruby's foot. However, the blonde noted with amusement that Raven had her arms wrapped around Ruby's leg and that she was also drooling.

Suddenly, a mischievous glint shone in Yang's eyes.

Summer sighed, "What are you plan-"

"Shhhh!"

The redheaded woman simply shrugged, and moved her chair to the side so she wouldn't be caught in the commotion that Yang was about to cause.

Yang smirked.

She then took in a deep breath and then-

"OWWW!"

The blonde watched with utter amusement as her Ma and sister began scrambling about on the couch.

"Y-Yang!? Are you okay!?"

"Wha-OOF!"

 _Thud!_

Now... if things have gone according to plan, Yang would've been howling with laughter. But... that _thud!_ that came from the two women wasn't from Ruby hitting the floor.

It was from Ruby kicking their Ma... right in the face.

Everyone just kind of... froze. Yang quickly looked at her mom at the end of the bed and silently begged her to _do_ _something_ before she was possibly murdered. Summer simply shook her head and left the blonde to fend for herself. She then slowly turned her head back towards her sister and their Ma. Ruby looked mortified by her own actions, but was too scared to even remove her foot from Raven's face. Raven, on the other hand, stared blankly at her youngest daughter; silently questioning the young girl with her eyes. She was probably wondering why Ruby's foot still seemed to be glued onto her face.

Yang then felt a shiver go down her spine when the woman directed her crimson gaze towards her. Raven gave the blonde a sidelong glance, and Yang _swore_ that her Ma's eyes were literally _glowing_ with what seemed to be anger. She gulped.

"E-Er..." the blonde raised her cast, "A-Arm pain?"

Raven simply rolled her eyes, and swiftly removed Ruby's foot from her face. The dark-haired woman sighed, "Well, if you're feeling well enough to joke around like that then I guess you're doing okay..."

"Hey! Do you really think that a _broken arm_ is going to keep me down?!" Yang asked in mock hurt, "Ma, I've _lost_ an arm and I'm still going strong."

"Heh... that's right."

The Rose-Branwen family sat there in a comfortable silence after the blonde had jokingly boasted about her resiliency. Soon, the atmosphere slowly crept onto unease, and Yang _knew_ what her family was going to ask her about next. She inwardly sighed and stared her Ma square in the face.

"Yang... who did this to you?"

The blonde thought about how to answer this question carefully. On one hand: Yang totally could've lied about who did this to her, and dealt with the problem herself. This option included falling into the little 'game' that Adam wanted to play; which also meant that she had to play _dirty_. Personally, she never had a problem with dealing with problems in less than reputable ways... but this time, there were too many factors to consider. She didn't want to involve anybody who absolutely _did not_ need to be involved.

Namely: Blake and all of Yang's friends.

On the other hand: Yang could flat-out rat the asshole out. This meant that she would have to involve Beacon Academy's disciplinary committee, which may or may not result in the bull-Faunus' academic termination from the institute (if he was proven guilty). Even the authorities might get involved, especially considering the extent of the injury that the blonde sustained from Adam's assault. This option was messy and involved a lot people, but it was safe.

Yang sighed.

 _I gotta play it safe_.

The blonde was hotheaded... but she wasn't _stupid_.

"T-There's this guy on the boys kick-boxing team..."

* * *

"W-What!?"

Weiss blankly stared at the white-haired woman across the room in indifference. She ignored the equally as astonished looks that she was receiving from the two Cat-Faunus women that they were with at the moment (well, Blake was more amused than surprised, but that was beside the point). She then briefly regarded her sister standing next to her, and it would seem that she also held a steely gaze towards their mother too. Albeit, Winter was more so admonishing Viktoria for her _idiotic_ behaviour, whereas Weiss was just genuinely annoyed.

She was concerned, of course.

But mostly annoyed.

They were currently having a standoff in the Belladonna's living room. The Belladonna's themselves, however, were trying desperately to not get caught in the crossfire of whatever war was occurring in their home.

"You are to assist the parents in setting up for the Vytal festival this year." Winter deadpanned.

"W-What?!" Viktoria repeated, " _Salem_ is usually the one who directs the preparations for events like the Vytal festival, and if you think that I am going work under that _crone_ , then-!"

"We didn't say you were helping out with the _management_ of the festival." Winter interrupted. Viktoria simply gave her a questioning look, and then turned towards Weiss for some answers.

Weiss sighed, "You're going to help with _physically_ setting up the attractions for the Vytal festival, mother."

"..."

After a painstakingly _long_ moment of silence, Viktoria finally processed what it was that Weiss and Winter were forcing her to do.

"You want me... to help be the muscle."

Weiss quirked a brow at the wording of her mother's statement, but nevertheless nodded. "Yes."

"N-"

"It was either this or a surprise intervention." Winter quickly interjected.

Weiss watched as her mother silently gave them an expression of disbelief. Of course they both knew that their mother needed professional help, but they also knew that the woman was too _stubborn_ to sign up for rehab. So for now... they had to do something to keep the woman distracted.

And nothing else keeps a person more distracted than manual labour.

Viktoria pinched the bridge of her nose, "I- ugh, _fine._ " she relented, "when do I start?"

"Well... since midterms are essentially over, we'll start setting everything up tomorrow at noon." Kali suddenly chimed in with a grin.

The white-haired woman quirked a brow at the Belladonna Matron. " _You_ usually help with set up?"

"Of course! You're not the only one who absolutely _loathes_ working under Salem's leadership. For the past couple of years I've volunteered to do the grunt work for these events just so I could get out of working with that woman."

Blake let out a little laugh at that, "Isn't that just you running away from her?"

"Oh quiet, you!"

Weiss smiled fondly at the Belladonnas banter. However, her smile transformed into somewhat of a frown when she caught the uneasy look that her mother displayed upon learning that she would be working with Kali.

Weiss internally made a sound between a sigh and a groan.

The Belladonna Matron had more or less so given Weiss and Blake a rundown of what happened between them last week at the bar. She left no details out, and even told them about the emotional fight that they had in the middle of the street. And... judging by what Kali explained to her, the white-haired girl had a feeling that the two women had reconciled somewhat.

So now... it was just a matter of pushing her _stubborn_ mother into the right direction.

Hence: why Winter and Weiss agreed to make their mother participate in a task that involved spending more time with a certain Faunus woman. It was a rather roundabout ploy, but nevertheless the Schnee sisters (along with Blake) believed that it was necessary.

"It won't be that _bad_ , Vi..." Kali attempted to cheer the Schnee Matron up, "Rae and Summer are going to be working with us too!"

"Oh _splendid_ ," Viktoria droned, with a slight eye roll. "There's no way I'm working within fifteen feet near Summer if there's any heavy machinery involved."

The Faunus woman laughed out loud at that, "Apparently, her daughter is ten times worse than her in terms of clumsiness!"

"She is." Weiss deadpanned.

A certain memory involving an avalanche of books falling down towards her briefly flashed across her mind. The former heiress let out a small smile when she saw the look of horror make its way onto her mother's face. It would seem that Ruby and Yang's mom was extremely clumsy.

 _Speaking of Ruby and Yang..._

"Has anyone gotten an update on Yang?" the white-haired girl questioned.

"Oh, I got a text from Yang earlier," Blake promptly answered, "she's being discharged today, and will be coming back to school tomorrow."

Weiss let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that. Things weren't exactly the same with the blonde oaf gone. Even though Blake did a very good job at hiding it, the former heiress knew that her Cat-Faunus friend was rather upset about the blonde being hurt.

For the past week, Blake had basically been moping around while she waited for Yang to get better.

Ruby also seemed to be out of sorts too, which was completely understandable considering the fact that her _sister_ was in the hospital. And if Weiss was being honest with herself, she didn't like it when the hyperactive brunette was upset. It just seemed _wrong_ seeing the young girl act so... _glum_. She'd much rather have Ruby act like her usual, over-energetic self.

Hopefully, Yang going back to the Academy would help lighten the girl's mood.

Hell... even Weiss herself felt a little sullen at the fact that the blonde oaf wasn't with them.

"That's a relief." Kali genuinely remarked. Even the Schnee womens gazes softened after being informed of Yang's recovery.

"Yeah," Blake breathed out with a small smile, "It is."

Weiss smirked teasingly at her Faunus friend, "Oh you act as if you haven't been visiting the oaf almost _everyday_ for the past week..."

"W-Weiss!"

"Wait... I thought you were studying in the _library_ for your midterms last week..." The Belladonna Matron drawled out, with a hint of amusement laced in her voice. She tried to sound disapproving, but Weiss and the others knew that Kali was mostly teasing the teenaged Faunus too.

And the said teenaged Faunus knew it.

"I-W-Well-! It wasn't like I _didn't_ study for out midterms while I was with her!" Blake immediately defended herself, "I also helped her study!"

"Apparently, you were also 'helping' her eat strawberries too..." Weiss offhandedly remarked with a knowing expression.

Her Faunus friend widened her eyes at that, "How did yo-?!"

"Ruby."

After a brief moment of realization, Blake reddened in embarrassment when Weiss informed her of how she obtained such intel. Mostly because it meant that some of the others probably saw her feed the blonde too. Namely, the said blonde's two mothers who also frequently visited their daughter in the hospital.

Meanwhile, Blake's ownmother was offering her an utterly entertained expression. Viktoria, on the other hand, looked on towards the Faunus girl with sympathy with Winter looking mildly amused by the whole ordeal.

Blake face-palmed in exasperation.

"Ugh, you guys are giving me a headache..."

Weiss and Kali laughed.

* * *

Coco suppressed the urge to laugh.

Specifically, she tried not to laugh at their incredibly whipped Cat-Faunus friend, who was currently _feeding_ a certain blonde some strawberries in the middle of the cafeteria. In front of _everybody_. Even the rest of their group were sending the bumblebee pair varying forms of entertained expressions, but it would seem that they didn't take notice of them at all.

It was like they were in their own little world.

When Coco was at her limit, she finally made a teasing remark. "I thought Yang only broke _one_ arm..." she stated innocently, "do you have to feed her like that?"

Her offhanded observation seemed to snap the girls out of their reverie. However, the first to react was the blonde herself, and she gave Coco a shit-eating grin.

"Are you _jealous~_?"

Coco scoffed and playfully rolled her eyes, "Oh _please_..." she droned on, "I've got two perfectly working hands to feed _myself_."

"Oh?" Velvet suddenly chimed in, "so you wouldn't like it if I fed you?"

At the Rabbit-Faunus' 'innocent' question, Coco heard Ruby utter a 'oooooh' under her breath. She then briefly glanced at the rest of her friends at the cafeteria table, and noted with slight annoyance that they were all giving her teasing looks. Even Velvet was staring at her with entertainment swimming in her eyes.

Coco inwardly huffed.

 _Playful Vixen..._

"I-I didn't say _that-_ mmf!"

The fashionista stared wide-eyed as Velvet all but shoved a baby carrot in her mouth. She was about to question her Rabbit-Faunus girlfriend, but then remembered that she had carrot in her mouth. So she opted to properly chew the vegetable while silently questioning the girl with her eyes.

Velvet simply smirked, "Then have my leftovers _please~_ "

Instead of verbally replying to the girl, Coco simply nodded begrudgingly as a familiar warmth made its way to her cheeks. She then grunted when she saw that Yang had imitated a 'whipping' motion with her working arm. She was about to make a remark towards the blonde, but was interrupted yet again.

"Ah- Hello Velvet."

Coco watched with confusion as the Rabbit-Faunus next to her scrambled to address the man who just called out to her. Velvet stood up straight, and greeted him politely. "I-, er, Professor Du Manoir-!"

"Please, Velvet." The Professor cut in, with amusement laced within his voice, "Call me by my first name. No need to be so _formal_."

Velvet laughed awkwardly at that, "R-Right, Professor Maxwell..."

Coco didn't fail to hear the pure apprehension in the other girl's voice.

She also didn't fail to hear the man's name.

Granted... she didn't recognize the man's voice, but she sure as hell remembered that _damn_ name. Coco was partly annoyed at herself for suddenly feeling so... _pissed off_.She had accepted earlier on in her life that she more or less so didn't feel anything towards the man who had left her and her mother all those years ago. But, now that he was, quite literally, right in front of her... she didn't know what to do.

However, before she could confirm who the man was for herself...

She abruptly shot up and walked away from the table.

Coco ignored the Faunus girl that called out to her, and continued to storm her way out of the cafeteria.

Now... it made sense as to why her mother had been pestering her about joining _Remnant Arts_.

The fashionista sighed.

 _I need to talk to Juliette._

* * *

 **Eyyyy! MediocreWriter here, back from the dead once again xD We are finally going to see Coco's mom in the upcoming chapters~**

 **I hope y'all are still enjoying the fic! Feedback/Reviews are always welcomed!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Slowly, but surely, I am reviving.**

 **Here's another chapter, my pretties.**

* * *

Patience was a virtue that Kali usually prided herself on.

She had the capacity to patiently wait for an agreement that she had with a (rather racist) client to follow through. She could patiently wait in line at a local food market while the cash register was needlessly getting yelled at (although, in those situations she would usually intervene). Hell, she could even patiently wait as _Salem_ spouted a rather condescending speech about making this year's Vytal festival a success.

 _However..._

As of right now, the Faunus woman found it rather hard to be _patient_ with the situation that she was presented with.

"S-Summer! You're going to break another vendor's tent if you keep running around like that!"

The hyperactive woman rolled her eyes, "Hey! I just want to be _efficient,_ and I'm barely even running! You're just too _slow_."

"I am _not_ slow!" Viktoria shot back, "You're just way too spastic and _fast_! Just slow the _hell_ down. These beams are also _heavy_!"

"Maybe you should get in shape! These beams aren't heavy at all."

"Ex _cuse_ me!?"

"You heard me, _Ice Queen_ you're out of sha- _YOUCH!_ "

Kali watched with a mixture of mild amusement and pure exasperation as Viktoria jerked the beam forwards, from behind the hyperactive woman. This resulted in the wooden beam being dug right into Summer's back. Then, like any other normal person, Summer didn't take the action too kindly and pushed back against the Schnee Matron.

Suddenly, the two women were engaged in a rather childish (and dangerous) 'game' of tug of war. To add more to the situation, they were also loudly bickering and calling one another some really _weird_ names. This then caught the attention of the other adults that were helping out too. Thankfully, everyone seemed more entertained than annoyed by their small brawl.

Kali sighed.

"Well that brings back some hilarious memories~" a certain Amazonian _redhead_ sang.

The Faunus woman huffed, and turned towards the woman who was _supposed_ to be managing their section of the Vytal festival set-up. "shouldn't you be, _I don't know_ , controlling the situation?"

"Oh please, everyone knows that those two only answer to either you or Raven." Aurelia quipped back.

Kali immediately reddened at her friend's words, "T-That's _not_ -!"

 _CRASH!_

 _"_ God dammit, Summer! Now we've got to clean this mess up!"

"This is _not_ my fault!"

"It _so_ is!"

The Belladonna Matron then watched as Summer turned to pout at her dark-haired wife, who was incidentally setting up the very tent that the two women knocked down. When Kali got a good look at Raven's utterly unamused and annoyed expression, she could feel her ears flatten in apprehension. If Summer actually thought that Rae was going to back her up on this one, then she had another thing coming. Seriously, the Branwen woman looked like she was about to explode.

Well... considering the fact that Raven had been setting up that tent for the past _hour_ , Kali kind of understood where her frustration was coming from.

"Both of you. Run a damn lap on the track. Right. Now." Raven calmly demanded.

 _Yikes..._

"Wha-?!"

"Oh Come on-!"

Both of the woman ceased their whining when they saw the look of unadulterated _rage_ that the Branwen woman displayed. Hell, even Kali and the Nikos Matron felt a little frightened by her palpable anger.

Summer and Vi then simultaneously gulped, while slowly backing away from the fuming Raven.

"Did I stutter?"

 _Aaand... there they go._

Summer and Viktoria didn't need to be prompted a third time to go run a lap by their dark-haired friend. They instantly took off onto the track, and did as they were told. Kali shook her head when she faintly heard that they were _still_ bickering as they ran. However, an amused, nostalgic smile made its way onto her face when she also caught bits and pieces of the good-natured teasing that the other adults were directing at them.

"It's a good thing that Salem made the set-up team wear the Academy's gym uniform..." Aurelia offhandedly remarked, "It probably would've been harder for them to run if they wore their normal clothes."

Kali scoffed, "We both know that Salem didn't make us wear the uniform for _convenience_..."

Aurelia hummed a little at that, but then shrugged. "True... well, at least they're a lot more cuter now!" she pointed out as she struck a rather embarrassing, 'cute' pose. She even held up a peace sign and everything.

Despite the embarrassment of the woman's actions, the Belladonna Matron still laughed along with her. Although, Kali had to admit that she did have a point. The gym uniforms that they used to wear back in the day were incredibly ugly. What used to be their gym clothes were an off-black pair of long shorts that went down to their knees. The shorts would also be coupled with a plain white tee that made _everybody_ look boxy. It wasn't flattering at all.

But now...

The uniforms were a lot more form-fitting.

All the older women were wearing the Academy's current gym uniforms, which was a pair of short, pure black mesh shorts that went down to their mid-thigh, and a form-fitting white t-shirt or tank top (they had the choice of either or).

Summer, Rae and Vi decided to wear the simple, form-fitting white t-shirt. Kali (along with Aurelia) opted to wear the white tank-top. The Faunus woman was always prone to feeling overheated, which was _mostly_ why she chose to wear the tank-top.

 _Well... the fact that Vi can't take her eyes off of my arms is a plus too..._

But she would never admit that out loud.

"My goodness... Vi looks just about ready to jump into those arms." Aurelia commented as she blew a low whistle.

Kali playfully shoved the other woman as she knew that she was just teasing her. However, that didn't stop her from briefly flitting her gaze towards the Schnee woman who had just finished her lap around the track. A small smile slowly made its way onto her face when caught Viktoria staring at her.

"Kal looks like she's ready for Vi to jump into her arms too..." a certain Branwen woman added.

The Faunus woman rolled her eyes at Raven's comment. However, before she could quip back at her friend, the school's intercom blared throughout the track and field area that they were setting up at.

" _Will Ms. Belladonna please report to the headmasters office, please._ "

Kali tilted her head in confusion at the prompt.

 _Which one-?_

" _A-Ahem! To clarify: would BOTH Kali and Blake Belladonna report to the headmaster's office. That is all._ "

A spike of anxiety coursed through the Belladonna Matron's veins at the request. However, that anxious wave soon washed away when she realized that she _did not_ attend Beacon Academy anymore. So it was safe to assume that she did absolutely nothing to warrant the need to be called to the headmaster's office.

It's just... hearing her name being called out on the P.A system brought back some memories from her troublemaking days.

"Ooooh... what did you do this time?"

Kali whipped her head around and squinted her eyes at her dark-haired friend, "I did _nothing_."

Aurelia laughed, "You do remember that your _daughter_ was also called, right?"

 _Oh..._

"Right."

Raven hummed at that, "Blake doesn't seem like the type to get called down to the office."

Kali frowned, "She's not..."

"Well then _go"_ Aurelia chimed in as she shoved the Faunus woman towards the Academy building, "don't worry about us, we'll hold down the fort over here."

Raven playfully rolled her eyes at the promise, "Well... at least we'll try to. Summer and Vi have a destructive streak going on..."

Kali wordlessly gave her two friends a thankful smile, and made her way towards the headmasters office. When she walked the halls of the Academy, she sighed at the thought of her daughter potentially being in trouble.

 _"_ When was the last time Blake got called down to the headmaster's office?" Kali pondered out loud. Her eyes then widened in realization when she remembered the last thing that Blake did to warrant such a request.

 _Oh right..._

 _The last time she got into trouble like that was when she punched Salem's daughter in the face._

* * *

"Ms. Belladonna, I have called you into my office to inform you that your daughter, Blake, has punched another student in the face."

Blake simply sat at her seat unapologetically as Headmaster Ozpin gave her mother a rundown of what happened. While she continued to sit with absolutely _no_ remorse for what she had done, the Faunus girl opted to briefly direct her gaze towards the student whose face she punched in.

Currently sitting at the chair adjacent to her with his hand covering his nose was one Adam Taurus.

He had a cloth pressed against his nose in an attempt to stop it from bleeding. He also was giving Blake a barely concealed expression of unadulterated _rage_ from behind the bloodied cloth. Blake, on the other hand, openly returned a rather nasty look of her own back at the idiotic Bull-Faunus as her mother and Ozpin were speaking.

"I would like to remind you that Beacon has a zero tolerance policy regarding violence..." the Headmaster began.

"Oh don't worry, Oz. I haven't forgotten about that policy... we both know that I'm rather well-versed with it." Kali replied light-heartedly. Blake couldn't help but smirk at that. She more or less so knew about her mother's past as being one of Beacon's most notorious delinquents. She also felt a little relieved that her mother seemed to be taking the fact that she assaulted another student rather well.

However... looks could be deceiving.

And Blake knew that she didn't inherit her neutral, poker-face from her father.

Headmaster Ozpin joined her in laughter, "Well, be that as it may, Kali... I am obligated to discipline Blake for what she has done."

"I understand, Oz."

"But I am also taking the allegations that Blake stated against Mr. Taurus very seriously." Ozpin added sternly as he turned his gaze towards the bull-Faunus of topic. "I hope you are prepared for a thorough investigation."

Blake could feel a growl threatening to leave her throat as she watched Adam flash a cocky grin towards Ozpin. Granted, he still had a bloodied cloth in front of his face, but she had a good view of his expression from the side.

She almost punched him again.

"Although I firmly believe that I have done _nothing_ to warrant the need for an investigation" Adam began as he turned his gaze towards Blake knowingly, "Yes... I agree to any investigation you must execute, _sir._ "

Headmaster Ozpin simply took a sip from his coffee mug and nodded at the boy.

"Very well. You are dismissed, Mr. Taurus."

Without missing a beat, the bull-Faunus left the headmaster's office without another word. However, Blake caught a glimpse of the look of resentment being aimed directly at her. Before she could passive-aggressively retaliate against the bull-Faunus herself, the sound of Headmaster Ozpin's voice brought her back to the situation at hand.

"Blake."

Blake felt herself tense from the sound of the Headmaster's stern tone. She actively prevented herself from showing how nerve-wracked she truly was, and forced herself to relax. She then raised her head to properly speak with the man before her, and levelled her gaze with his own. She didn't know what to make of Headmaster Ozpin's neutral expression.

Ozpin sighed, "Considering the fact that you're one of Beacon's more... studious and well-behaved students, I will _not_ suspend you for what you have done."

Blake perked up at that.

"However, that doesn't mean that you're getting out of this with just a warning..." he continued on.

The Faunus girl frowned.

 _Is he going to give me detention?_

"So, I have decided that you will be helping out with the set up for the Vytal festival."

 _Wait..._

Blake held a small smile at what the man was insinuating. "So... I'm going to be working with my Mom...?"

Ozpin lifted his coffee cup to his lips, and took a sip. After a moment, he nodded at Blake's question and then winked. "Yes."

Before Blake could even begin to thank the merciful man that was Beacon's headmaster, her mother decided to _unnecessarily_ chime in.

"Awww! When _I_ got in a fight with Watts I had to clean _all_ of the windows in the West Wing of the Academy..." Kali whined, "You're not nearly as strict as Headmaster Lagune! He was a tyrant!"

Upon hearing the woman _whine_ about Blake's punishment, the Faunus girl gave her mother an incredulous look. She wasn't sure if Kali actually _wanted_ her to get in trouble or not. So, before the Belladonna Matron could make Ozpin second guess his punishment for her, Blake abruptly stood up from her chair and offered the Headmaster a thankful smile.

"Well! Thank you, Headmaster Ozpin for being so _understanding._ " Blake suddenly exclaimed, "Er, I guess I'll go get started with my punishment!"

Ozpin smiled, "Of course... have a good day, Ms. Belladonna."

She then all but shoved her mother out of the Headmaster's office with as much grace as she could. When they finally made it out to the hallway, Kali let out a light-hearted laugh.

"You got off easy, Blake."

Blake huffed, "so _why_ would you want to change that?!"

"Mild jealousy, I suppose." her mother wittily replied with a nonchalant shrug. Despite the light-heartedness of their banter, Blake felt the atmosphere take a more heavy turn. She braced herself when she heard her mother sigh heavily, and then gave her a sidelong glance to indicate that she was ready to listen.

"What you're accusing Adam of is pretty serious, Blake."

Blake exhaled sharply and continued to walk down the halls with her mother. "I know... but I'm sure that he's responsible for what happened to her. Yang wouldn't lie about this."

"I don't doubt it." Kali agreed, "I just want you to be careful. There's something off about that boy."

"I will, mom."

Kali playfully rolled her eyes, "You say that, but you already clocked him in the face."

"And rightfully so!" Blake shot back. "He _broke_ Yang's arm!"

"So you retaliate by breaking his _nose_?"

Blake opened her mouth to defend her rationale, but then closed it. If she was being completely honest with herself, she knew that retribution wasn't the only driving force behind her actions. She absolutely _hated_ Adam Taurus. He was a radical White Fang fanatic, and Blake was positive that he was an active member of the group too.

He also was a total _asshole_.

So at lunch, when Yang told her and their group of friends about how she broke her arm, well...

Blake stormed her way towards Adam's cafeteria table and then _bludgeoned_ his face in with her fist.

"Oh my gosh! Blake, did you get expelled?!" a certain hyperactive redhead abruptly exclaimed.

Both of the Faunus women directed their gaze towards Ruby's voice. She felt a smile make its way onto her face when she saw Yang, along with Ruby and Weiss, waiting for her at the end of the hallway. Both Yang and Weiss seemed to relax once they saw the Faunus girl shake her head in response to Ruby's sudden question. She then started to make her way towards them, but felt her mother place a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, I'll give you ten minutes to chat with your friends and your _girlfriend_." Kali stated with a smirk.

Blake reddened at her mother's acknowledgement of her relationship status with the blonde. Before she could even make a retort towards the Faunus woman, Kali had already begun leisurely making her way towards the exit of the building.

"I want you out at the track in _ten minutes_ , Blake!"

"Alright, I got it!" Blake playfully droned. She then heard the faint sounds of her friends footsteps as they made their way towards her side of the hallway.

"The track?" Weiss asked with confusion, "is Ozpin making you run laps for punching Adam?"

"Oooh that sounds like a fun punishment!" Ruby joined in.

Blake smiled at the Red and White duo. "No, he's not making me run laps." she answered, "Ozpin's letting me off easy and is making me help with the set up for the Vytal festival."

"Oh! So basically, you're going to work with our moms!" Yang cheerily stated.

The Faunus girl nodded, "Yup."

Blake was incredibly relieved upon hearing that she was going to help out with the Vytal festival. As much as she loved being in libraries and indoors, if she had to organize _another_ bookshelf from Beacon's library then she might have gone stir crazy. She was also really comfortable with the fact that she'd be working along side her mother for the set up. And the fact that she'd be able to see her mother's relationship with a certain Schnee Matron potentially blossom was a plus, too.

"I'll join you!" the blonde suddenly declared with a toothy grin. "I mean, since my arm is broken I can't even participate in training for the second half of the day." She quickly added on before Blake could've refused. "It also gives me a reason to ditch my health and fitness lecture..."

Blake quirked a brow at the blonde, "are you sure?"

Suddenly, Yang pecked the Faunus girl on the cheek. "Heck yeah! It'll be fun." She then snaked an arm around Blake's waist, and brought her lips to the Faunus girl's ear, "I'd also like to _personally_ reward you, Blakey."

Blake felt her face grow hot. "R-Right..."

"Seeing you get angry like that was such a turn o _-_ "

"EW!" Ruby interrupted, "Gross, Yang! Could you dirty-talk on your own time?! You're etching away at my _innocence_."

Yang lifted her lips from the Faunus girl's ears and guffawed at the redhead. "Don't act as if you're completely _pure,_ little sister. We _all_ see those hickeys that you've planted _all over_ Weiss' collarbone."

Both of the small girls immediately flushed at Yang's statement. Ruby began to sputter an incoherent response towards her sister, whereas Weiss scrambled to cover her shoulders and chest. Instead of making a snarky comeback, the white-haired girl began stomping away from the group - muttering something about how much of a brute the blonde was. Soon, Ruby pined after her cranky girlfriend and offered her an apology on her sister's behalf.

All Blake and Yang did was laugh. Yang then stared down at Blake, and gave her a grin. "Shall we get going, Blakey?"

Blake offered the blonde a smile of her own.

"Yeah."

They both began to walk towards the track, hand-in-hand.

* * *

Coco walked towards her mother's study with a mouthful of unsaid questions.

After seeing that man, who may or may not be who Coco thought he was, the brown-haired girl immediately called for one of the chauffeurs to take her home. She didn't even know if Juliette was still at home, let alone in the _damn country_ but she was determined to get answers.

Even if it meant that she would have to _fly_ to whatever country it was that Juliette shipped herself off to.

She wasn't going to wait for another decade to see her again.

"Ah- Ms. Adel, your mother is busy right now and-!"

Coco pushed past the assistant that tried to stop her from storming into her mother's study. She then abruptly pushed the clear, glass door open and stalked right up to Juliette's desk. Juliette, who _was_ on the phone, regarded her daughter with mild curiosity as she watched Coco _hang up_ the phone on her while she was in mid-sentence. The fashionista then watched as her mother leaned back into her chair.

Suddenly, both of the women were engaged in an intense stand-off.

"We need to talk, Juliette."

* * *

 **Are y'all ready for that COCO backstory/development!? Because I know I am xD**

 **LOL don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the fic and I am _determined_ to wrap it up nicely (lol not that I'm actually close to finishing it :P. If I were being quite honest, I'd say that we are little over half-done but we'll see ;D). **

**Anywaaays... I hope you guys are still liking it! Lemme know what you think!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	31. Chapter 31

**AYOOO here's a chapter my friends :D**

* * *

Coco was reminded of how jarringly different she was from Juliette when she stared the woman down at her desk.

Sure, in terms of how they _carry_ themselves, the fashionista was told that they were very similar in that sense. However, if people were to put them side-by-side, no one would suspect that they were mother and daughter if they didn't already know them. In spite of that fact, one of the very few things that the women had in common was their presence.

Both of them had an aura that demanded the attention of the people surrounding them.

Coco, on one hand, held the attention of others through her stoic charisma. She had a "no-nonsense" attitude that people found alluring, and her natural affinity for fashion was one of her selling points. The girl was also aware of how relatively attractive she was, but she never directed the attention of others to that part of her. No, if people were going to be looking at her, it would be because of what she was _wearing_.

Juliette, on the other hand, controlled the attention of others through her imposing nature. Everything about her screamed of vanity, and it was a part of her personality that she actively advertised. People described her as enigmatic, high-maintenance, and notoriously problematic. The woman caused _just enough_ scandal for the public to keep wanting more. She was also a woman who _lived_ off of the envy of others. There was no such thing as 'bad publicity' in Juliette's eyes. If people _weren't_ talking about her, then something was wrong.

Of course, the fashion icon was also drop dead _gorgeous_... but physical appearance was where Coco and her mother's similarities ended.

Coco's appearance had a very dark, coffee colour scheme to it. Oftentimes she was found wearing earthly tones in varying shades, and she was known for her signature accessories. Namely: her black beret and steampunk-inspired, round glasses. Her natural, chocolate brown hair merged with her ensemble as well. The only perceivable outlier in Coco's appearance was the streak of light, caramel locks of hair on the right side of her face. That was a trait that she inherited from her mother.

Juliette's appearance was a lot more lighter, and brilliant in contrast. The tones that she would wear were more lively than Coco's usual apparel. Most of the time, The Adel head would be wearing bright tones of caramel that had shimmering, scarlet undertones to it. Even Juliette's hair had subtle, fiery lowlights that would transform into a blaze when exposed to certain lighting. Whenever she was out, it would seem like the woman emitted her own kind of light. She naturally caught the attentions of others.

The Adel woman quirked a perfectly sculpted brow at her daughter as she leaned into her hand. This minuscule gesture caused Coco's bravado to falter momentarily. Mostly because the woman before her didn't seem like she was angry at her behaviour. If anything, Juliette looked like she was mildly amused by what the fashionista was doing.

That thought made Coco frown.

It was almost as if Juliette wanted to play a-

An entertained gleam entered Juliette's eyes, and a challenging, lopsided smile graced her lips. "So you wanted to talk?"

 _Is she seriously treating this like a game?_

Instead of being infuriated at how utterly insensitive Juliette was acting, the fashionista decided to take a different route to dealing with the woman. Coco then mirrored the woman's smirk, and crossed her arms.

"Well... the Headmaster of Remnant Arts is scouting students at Beacon for new talent."

Coco watched as Juliette's demeanour wavered ever so slightly at the mention of the Remnant Arts Headmaster. The change left as soon as it came, but it didn't go over the fashionista's head.

Her mother clenched her jaw, and made herself busy by pretending to write some notes at her desk.

"Is that so?"

The sheer disinterest laced within Juliette's voice almost made Coco snap. However, the girl controlled her emotions and decided not to outright blow up at the infuriating woman. Instead, she made the decision to get straight to the point. She was going to get nowhere if she continued to treat this interaction like a game.

"Yeah." Coco responded dryly, "so did you have any intentions of telling me that my _father_ was coming for a visit?"

Juliette's hand immediately stopped scribbling whatever imaginary notes she was writing. The fashionista then silently watched as the woman leaned back into her chair once more as she exhaled sharply.

"Well, considering the fact that I didn't know that he was in town, my answer to that question would be no."

Coco scoffed, "Oh so you suddenly pushing _Remnant Arts_ on me and his appearance are just a coincidence?"

"As ridiculous as it sounds out loud, yes. Maxwell's appearance is purely coincidental."

"Bull _shit_."

Juliette pinched the bridge of her nose, and let out a frustrated groan. "You have shown _no_ interest whatsoever in that man in the past, Coco. So why now?"

That statement sent the fashionista over the edge. Coco could feel her anger boil over as her body began to shake. How _dare_ Juliette talk as if she actually knew her. The woman had been completely absent for half of Coco's life, and she had the audacity to claim that she had a _sliver_ of an understanding of what she showed interest in.

 _Screw handling the situation maturely._

"How the _fuck_ would you know about what I show interest in, Juliette? And it's not like I didn't care about him, I just ignored the fact that he even existed!" Coco spat back, "Doing that was certainly better than believing that he didn't _love_ me enough to stay!"

Juliette flinched at the last part that Coco all but yelled. When the fashionista herself finally registered what she said, she also was taken aback by what she let out. Nevertheless, she made no effort to retract her words and stood defiantly in front of the woman at the desk. As she observed her mother, Coco noted that her demeanour shifted into one of exasperation and defeat.

All was silent for a split second.

But then Juliette abruptly stood from her chair.

"Well it's comforting to know that we _both_ had the same thoughts regarding the way your father left us."

 _What-_

The fashion icon then ran a hand through her hair, and huffed. "Listen, Coco. If you have any questions about why that man left, then I'm the wrong person to ask. Even I don't know the answer to that. Just... ask him yourself."

"W-Wait-"

"Now if you'll excuse me," Juliette interrupted, "I'm going to go to my room and rest."

Coco stood at the desk, frozen, as Juliette made her way out of the office. She turned around and stared quizzically at the woman's receding form. Before she could process the words that she was about to say, they were already out of her mouth.

"Is this why you want me to go to _Remnant Arts_? So that I could meet him?"

Her mother's footsteps halted, and Coco heard her sigh for the umpteenth time.

"Remnant Arts is by far the best institute to learn about fashion and the arts, Coco." The woman then gave her a sidelong glance, "I'm not going to deny the fact that you have talent."

After that last statement, Juliette left the office without another word.

The fashionista simply stood there and tried to make sense of what was happening.

She then rubbed her temples and groaned out loud.

 _What do I do now?_

* * *

"W-What do I do now!?"

Kali tried to stifle her laughter as she watched her only daughter struggle to support a very unstable Viktoria, flailing about on her shoulders. Approximately four metres to their right, Raven and Summer were in a very similar position. Albeit, the Rose-Branwen duo were much more stable than the other two women, and were already securing their half of the welcoming banner up on its designated pole. Immediately to Kali's left, Yang was watching the whole ordeal with a permanent, entertained smirk plastered on her face.

They were currently making the finishing touches of the Vytal festival set-up.

Well... they were at least _trying_ to.

"Ah- Shi-! Er... Miss Schnee? C-Can you _try_ and stop moving around so much?!" Blake's exasperated voice came through.

" _Y-You're_ the one that's moving around, Blake!"

"I'm moving around because I'm trying to balance out _your_ movements!"

"Don't back-talk me! And who can _blame_ me for moving around so much. Your centre of gravity is too high!" Viktoria exclaimed, "Why'd you have to be so _tall!?_ "

Blake groaned, and tried to readjust the stubborn Schnee woman on her shoulders, "I can't do anything about my height! and I-I'm _not_ back-talking you-OUCH!"

Both Yang and Kali immediately guffawed at what the Schnee Matron did next. Viktoria basically latched onto Blake's Faunus ears in a feeble attempt to stay balanced on her shoulders after brashly reaching out to put up the banner. The Faunus girl all but _yowled_ out in pain, and almost sent Viktoria flying towards the ground. The only good thing that came out of the situation was that the white-haired woman actually managed to secure their side of the banner up on their pole.

Without missing a beat, Blake roughly placed Viktoria back onto flat ground when she realized they got the banner up. The older woman yelped in surprise at the brash movement and once she stabilized herself on her own two feet, she immediately gave the Faunus girl an annoyed glare. Kali noted with utter amusement that Viktoria's baleful look was mirrored by Blake's own, irked expression. They were both frowning deeply at one another, and had their arms crossed.

" _You're_ just as boorish as your freaking _mother_!" Viktoria yelled.

" _You're_ just as stubborn as your freaking _daughter_!" The Faunus girl shot back.

Blake then rubbed her Faunus ears, and let out a little groan. "Didn't my mom tell you how sensitive our ears are while you guys hung out as teenagers!? They _hurt_ now, Miss Schnee!"

"W-Well whatever! We got the stupid banner up!"

"Yeah, after you almost ripped my ears off my scalp!"

As they continued to trade jabs at one another, Kali wondered if she should intervene. She could tell that Vi and Blake didn't mean anything by what they were saying, but she didn't want the situation to escalate. However, before she could say or do anything to calm the two women down, Viktoria actually decided to let up.

"UGH! Fine, I'll go get you some chips from a vending machine as an apology!" Viktoria finally blurted out as she stalked away towards the said vending machine.

"Wha-? W-Wait! You don't even know what I like-!"

Viktoria turned around, and quirked a brow at the young Faunus, "What? Are ' _Fishy Chippy's'_ not your favourite?"

Blake tilted her head, "They _are_... how did you-?"

"They're your mother's favourite too."

Kali pretended that she didn't hear that last part that the Schnee Matron, rather loudly, proclaimed. She also ignored the playful nudge that Yang gave her on her side, and tried to hide the redness that was slowly engulfing her cheeks.

"Maybe I should tell her that she's hitting on the wrong Belladonna..." Yang playfully remarked.

Kali's flush deepened, and she inwardly slumped when she saw the Rose-Branwen duo make their way towards them. She was sure that they heard Yang's teasing comment, especially judging by the shit-eating grin that Raven had plastered on her face.

"HA! Good one, Yang." Raven joined in.

Summer stifled her giggle, and swatted at her wife, "Leave her alone you two!"

In response, both of the teasing women held up their arms in mock surrender. Kali simply gave Summer a thankful expression, and then turned her head to see if Blake and Vi were doing okay. She turned just in time to see that Vi had already given Blake a bag of _Fishy Chippy's_. She also noted that they reconciled rather quickly, as they were speaking quite amicably with one another while they made their way towards the rest of the group.

Suddenly, a certain Amazonian redhead materialized out of nowhere and slapped Kali on the back.

"Well! We're basically done! Good job ladies."

Kali turned around and smacked Aurelia back. She then playfully scoffed "Yeah, no thanks to _you_."

Aurelia gasped dramatically, and feigned mock-hurt, " _This_ is the gratitude that I get for fending off _Salem_ from our set-up section for the past three hours?"

"What was that about Salem?" Viktoria chimed in with Blake in tow.

Kali took notice of how the Faunus girl immediately went to Yang's side, and pecked her on the cheek. In response, the blonde simply displayed a goofy grin, and wrapped an arm around Blake's waist. The Belladonna Matron resisted the urge to openly gush at the interaction, and she silently concluded that Yang was definitely rubbing off on her daughter. Normally, Blake wasn't very keen on displaying affection but it would seem that Yang was an exception to that fact.

Viktoria took her place next to Kali herself, and abruptly pelted the Belladonna Matron with a bag of _Fishy Chippy's_.

Aurelia smirked, "Oh I just saved you all from a dreadful interaction with the very pale and _mean_ tyrant that is Sa-"

" _Who_ is pale and mean, Nikos?" an all too familiar voice cut in.

The Faunus woman fought the urge to groan out loud. The Nikos Matron and the others, on the other hand, openly displayed her disdain for the woman who interrupted her sentence. Raven and Summer were acting as if the woman wasn't even there. Both Blake and Yang just seemed uneasy about the woman's presence. Then there was Viktoria, who was outright glaring at the intruder.

Aurelia was ready to give Salem a snarky remark, but then she was cut off once again. "Not that it matters, of course." The pale woman dryly stated. However, a cunning smirk slowly made it's way onto Salem's face.

"Anyways, I've come here to introduce a new member to your section. She will be helping you all with serving the guests at the booths that you've set up." Salem then stared right at the Belladonna Matron, and offered her a wicked smile, "Isn't that right, Ms. Khan?"

 _...Khan_?

"Sounds good to me..."

Suddenly, one of the last people that Kali thought she'd ever see again emerged from behind the pale woman. The Belladonna Matron's voice got caught in her throat, and a storm of conflicting emotions began to engulf her mind.

The Bengal Tigress simply flashed Kali a warm smile. "Hey Kali. Did you miss me?"

The Belladonna Matron tried _very hard_ to ignore the inquisitive glances that she was receiving from virtually _everybody_ in her general vicinity.

Especially Viktoria's.

Kali gulped.

"Hey Sienna..."

* * *

 **Dun Dun DUUUUNNN...**

 ***Continues to insert wrenches into the story***

 ***Begins to wonder how tf Imma fix the damage caused by those wrenches***

 ***shrugs***

 **LOL Ik it's been a while since I've updated, but I hope you guys are still into the fic! :D**

 **Stay tuned for that WhiteRose goodness...**


	32. Chapter 32

**WAAASSUUUUUUPP!**

 **LOL here's a chapter, my friends.**

* * *

"I cannot believe that I let you talk me into this, Rose."

Despite the fact that she was reprimanding the hyperactive girl lying down on her lap, Weiss couldn't help but smile down at her. Somehow, Ruby managed to convince the honour student into believing that they 'deserved a break' from their midterms. And by 'convince,' the white-haired girl truly meant that she completely succumbed to the redheaded girl's 'puppy-dog' look. The hyperactive girl pulled out all the stops into breaking down the Schnee's resolve. But if Weiss was being honest with herself, it didn't really take much for Ruby into making her play hooky.

The former heiress inwardly sighed at that thought, and she idly played with Ruby's hair.

 _This dolt has me wrapped around her freaking finger._

Ruby raspberried at the white-haired girl, and then flashed her sleepy smile, "Oh you totally _wanted_ to do this!"

Weiss simply rolled her eyes in response.

They were currently _ditching_ their afternoon lectures and lounging in a secluded spot in Beacon's library. It was a rather sheltered area that contained some furniture for the students to either relax or nap in. Both of the girls opted to make use of the small, brown cushioned love seat that was there and made themselves comfortable on it. Their little spot also was also cornered off by some sizeable bookshelves, and was dimly lit by the sun's rays, shining through the library's massive windows.

The backlighting that was provided by the outside world seemed to transform everything into silhouettes. From a distance, the people who were idly searching the rows of bookshelves appeared to look like indistinguishable shadows.

The former heiress quite enjoyed the serenity that emanated from the atmosphere.

In fact, it was so calming that she almost dozed off.

 _Almost_.

Ruby, on the other hand, well...

"Dolt..." Weiss began as she flicked the girl's forehead, "you're drooling on my lap."

The younger girl whined, "Weisss... I was having a _really good_ dream!"

Weiss decided to humour the girl, and prompted her to go on. "And what was this _really good dream_ about?"

Ruby rubbed her eyes lazily, and a small smile graced her lips. "Oh it was just about us, married with two awesome kids; they were twins. One was a girl and the other a boy. We named them Topaz and Jasper and they both were super cute. Jasper resembled you a lot, whereas Topaz was more like me and- oh my God I'm doing the thing where I'm actually saying everything out loud, aren't I?"

Weiss would've answered her, but she was too busy hiding the smile that slowly formed on her face from each and every word that the hyperactive girl said. The former heiress' heart instantly melted at the little fantasy that Ruby seemed to have about their relationship.

Suddenly, Ruby shot up from the white-haired girl's lap and began to back track on her words.

"i-it was just a _dream_ though! Anyways, stuff like marriage is a long way off. Like, we don't need to think about that _now_ ; not that I'm thinking about it all the time... but I'm also not _not_ thinking about it! I mean- Er, it's basically the endgame that I _want_ for our relationship and-eep!"

The former heiress cupped a hand behind Ruby's head, and shut the blabbering girl up with a chaste kiss. Although their lips came in contact briefly, Weiss made sure to convey the happiness that she was feeling at the moment.

When she pulled away from the younger girl's face, Weiss couldn't help but smirk at the incredibly _dorky_ expression that Ruby displayed. The girl's cheeks became as red as her namesake, and the giddiest grin made its way onto her lips.

"Heh, I should go off on tangents more often if it means that I get a _kiss_..."

Weiss playfully scoffed, and ruffled Ruby's hair, "Whatever, dolt..." she then stood up from the couch, and dusted off her skirt. "as relaxing as this is, I'm going to look for some study guides for one of my business lectures."

"Awww! This was supposed to be our break!"

"Ruby, we've been lounging around in this library for the _past hour_. I'm done with my break."

Ruby pouted, "Okay, fine! While you do your schoolwork, I'll be _blissfully_ napping on this couch."

Weiss rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time, "Alright. I'll wake you when I'm done."

The former heiress began to walk away from the hyperactive girl, but then she paused when she decided that she was feeling particularly playful.

"Oh and Ruby?"

The redhead perked up, "Yeah?"

"I like the names Topaz and Jasper."

The white-haired girl turned around and walked towards the general direction of the library's business section before Ruby could even reply to that statement. However, she did catch a glimpse of the embarrassed, but elated look that the younger girl showed in response to her words.

When Weiss cornered around one of the bookshelves, she leaned up against it and covered her face with one of her hands. She then smiled like an utter fool.

 _What is that girl doing to me..._

Ever since Weiss started a relationship with the hyperactive girl, she could feel that she was slowly changing. There was no doubt in the girl's mind that Ruby had been nothing but a positive influence on her. The Schnee found that she was smiling more often, and that she was becoming less...uptight. Blake and Coco made sure to point that out whenever they could.

"Wow... Red has you wrapped around her little finger, Schnee."

Weiss' smile immediately left her face when she recognized who this new voice belonged to. She turned her head to address her unwanted visitor, and gave them a hostile glare. The said intruder simply smirked back at her in mild amusement, and casually sauntered their way towards the former heiress. The way in which they approached her made the girl feel uneasy.

It was like they were sizing her up.

Despite her discomfort, Weiss regarded the insufferable girl who decided to make an appearance with a scowl.

"Cinder."

The dark-haired girl continued to stalk right up to Weiss, and stopped directly in front of her. Weiss fought the urge to shrink in on herself when Cinder outright invaded her personal space, and stood her ground. There was no way in _hell_ that she was going to cower before Cinder, of all people.

The taller girl began to lean in close, and tilted Weiss' chin up; forcing the white-haired girl into holding her calculating gaze.

"Now _that's_ more like it..." Cinder drawled on. A wicked smirk then slowly formed on her lips, "a mean scowl suits you a lot better."

Weiss slapped the girl's hand away. "Don't touch me! And I don't care for your opinion on what suits me, Cinder."

Cinder's smirk transformed into a full-blown smile, and she leaned back into Weiss' personal bubble. "Well that's going to have to change," the girl stated cryptically as she played with the ends of Weiss' ponytail. "Because we're going to be seeing a lot of each other in the near future, Schnee."

The former heiress backed away from the raven-haired girl, and frowned. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You should ask your daddy."

"What-"

"Ah-, I seemed to have found my book." Cinder cut her off with that _stupid_ calculating smile that she always wore.

The taller girl proceeded to grab a book out of the shelf that was directly above Weiss. When she secured it in her arms, she gave Weiss one last once-over before turning around.

"See you around, Weiss."

With that, the dark-haired girl vanished further into the library without another word.

After a couple of moments of trying to process that interaction, a feeling of unease crept into Weiss' body as she thought about what Cinder had told her. Her brows scrunched up in worry, and her mind began to run on overdrive on how her father could possibly have anything to do with this.

 _What the hell is going on._

* * *

 _What... the fuck is going on._

Raven shifted on her feet uncomfortably as she _tried_ to listen to the Nikos Matron give her the breakdown of what they were going to do the next day. The main reason as to why the dark-haired woman felt so _uncomfortable_ was because she was placed in a group with Kali and two of the Faunus woman's _freaking exes_. Those two exes being: one Viktoria Schnee and one Sienna Khan.

The trio of women were currently residing on the far side of their booth, and were setting up the display of the random trinkets that they were supposed to sell. Raven could practically _see_ the air of awkward tension that surrounded the three as they more or less so worked together. And the Branwen woman was in _no rush_ whatsoever to join them.

Her gaze briefly focused on the elephant in the room.

Or in this case: the Bengal Tigress in their booth.

 _Oh I'm definitely going to make Kal tell me about_ her _later..._

Raven then turned her head towards her wife, and pouted. Summer totally got off the hook and was grouped with Blake, Yang and Aurelia. Their group (except for the Nikos Matron at the moment) were in the booth across from her own, and were basically in charge of selling (and eating) the sweets.

Suddenly, Raven had the overwhelming urge to openly whine.

 _Awww! I wanna hang out with Summer and eat sweets too..._

"Oi! Raven, are you even listening to me?"

Raven threw her head back and groaned, "Ugh, Yeah I am, Aurelia!"

Aurelia quirked a brow at the dark-haired woman, "What's _your_ problem?"

"it's _nothing_ ," Raven sarcastically began, "I'm absolutely _not_ upset at the fact that Salem basically stuck me in the middle of Kali's weird love-triangle situation..."

"Oh it won't be _that bad_."

"Then trade places with me!"

The Nikos Matron crossed her arms in an 'X' motion at the suffering dark-haired woman, and playfully smiled. "I politely refuse!"

Raven growled, "But you just _said_ it won't be-"

"I _lied_." Aurelia deadpanned.

The redheaded woman then began to inch away from Raven's booth, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be eating sweets over there with your wife, your child, and Blake."

"W-Wait-!"

"Toodles~" Aurelia sang as she straight up _abandoned_ her.

 _...that son-of-a-bit-!_

"Oof!"

Raven couldn't even finish cursing her so-called friend before Viktoria whipped a random trinket at her chest. The Branwen woman scrambled to catch the damn thing, and when she finally secured it in her arms, she scowled at the Schnee.

"Did you just throw this tiny statue at me?!"

"Yes." Viktoria droned as she rolled her eyes from the other side of the booth. "Do you intend on helping us out anytime soon, Branwen?"

Raven returned the cranky Schnee's eye roll, and sighed. "Alright, I'm coming..."

The dark-haired woman then begrudgingly trudged her way to their side of the booth. As she did so, Raven noted that with each and every step she took towards the three women, the atmosphere would become resoundingly _colder_. She suppressed the urge to shudder, and stared at the other side of the booth in apprehension. When she actually focused on what was going on, the Branwen woman had half the mind to turn back around and retreat to her wife.

Sure, to any unsuspecting passerby it would seem that Viktoria and Sienna were casually conversing as they organized the display table. However, that assumption couldn't be further from the truth. It was like the _Second Great War_ was currently underway in their tiny booth. What with the threatening smiles, and the passive-aggressive remarks that Viktoria was directing at the Bengal-Faunus. Raven could practically see the fire in her eyes.

As for Sienna herself, well... it seemed like she was genuinely trying to have a conversation with the Schnee woman.

Unfortunately, that still didn't take away from the fact that Raven _did not_ want to be there at the moment.

 _I don't know who I want to kill more... Aurelia, for not switching with me or Kali, for being a damn playgirl!_

When the Branwen finally made it to the Cat-Faunus' side, she observed that Kali was watching the other women's interaction while eating her freaking _Fishy Chippy's_ in panic. Raven could _feel_ that the Faunus woman's mind was racing. She was probably thinking of ways that she could get herself out of this situation. It would seem that the Branwen's hunch was correct, because Kali actually had the audacity to try and escape in the direction that Raven came from.

"Oh _no_ you _don't_!" Raven hissed as she roughly pulled the Faunus woman back.

The said Faunus woman tried to rip herself away from Raven's grasp and begged the woman with her eyes, "Raven, _please_ -!"

"If I have to be caught in the crossfire of whatever _war_ is going on in this damn booth, then so do you!"

"I do _not_ want to be here for this!"

Raven scoffed, "I don't _care._ If I'm going down, then you're _going down with me_!"

"That is a _selfish mentality_ to-!"

Suddenly, yet another projectile statue was thrown at Raven's general direction. The dark-haired woman ducked for good measure, but was surprised (and somewhat pleased) to find that the statue was lobbed at Kali.

"OW! Vi, these things are made of stone!" The Faunus woman exclaimed as she held the tiny statue in the air.

"Which is why I threw it at you." Vi huffed, "would you two stop your bickering and help us, _now?_ "

In response, both of the dark-haired women begrudgingly did as they were told, and went to help the other two with the display table. When Raven finally made it to the damn table, she saw that Vi and Sienna had basically finished the job.

There was an assortment of beaded jewelry sprawled all over the table's surface, along with a number of wooden and stone statues of Remnant's mythological/historical figures. It also seemed like Sienna and Vi had hung up a couple of traditional Menagerian-styled tapestries on the poles that were supporting the front side of the booth.

Overall, it looked like an authentic street-market booth.

Which was why Raven was kind of confused.

"Er... isn't this set up a little too 'rough around the edges' for the types of people that go here?" The Branwen woman pointed out, "I remember when _we_ went here, all of the festivities were a lot more...refined."

Viktoria gave Raven a sidelong glance, and shrugged. "Apparently, shortly after we graduated from Beacon, the members of the other countries pointed out how the previous arrangements of the Vytal Festival wasn't very accommodating for such a diverse population of people."

"Is that so?" Kali chimed in.

"Mhmm." Viktoria affirmed as she began to pack away some left over jewelry. "As a result, the Academy and the Event Committee decided to create two separate event spaces. One for those who preferred the luxurious atmosphere, and the other for those who... don't."

Raven scoffed, "I'm assuming that the elitist's from Vale and the Atlesians go to the 'rich' spaces."

The white-haired woman simply sighed and nodded in response to Raven's statement.

"Well that decision doesn't exactly 'fix' things..." Sienna abruptly joined in. The Branwen woman turned her head to regard the Bengal Tigress, and saw that she was frowning. "If anything, they simply decided to sweep the glaring issues under the rug."

"The goal was to simply appease the citizens at the time, not to 'fix' the underlying issues of classism and racism that still exist." Viktoria stated matter-of-factly. "Although, I do agree that this fixes _nothing,_ and is counter-progressive."

Upon hearing the latter part of Vi's statement, Sienna stared at the Schnee Matron thoughtfully and then let out a little laugh. "Who knew that a _Schnee_ had the capacity to be considerate about issues like racism."

"The ideals of my husband are not a reflection of my own, Ms. _Khan._ " Vi responded curtly.

"My mistake." The Bengal Tigress more, or less so, apologized as she smirked, "Please, call me Sienna. A friend of Kali's is a friend of mine."

Raven inwardly rolled her eyes. _Too bad Vi wasn't just Kali's frie-_

 _"OUCH!"_

Kali smacked the back of Raven's head before she could finish that sentence. The dark-haired woman then realized that she was thinking out loud, and didn't even dare to look in Viktoria's direction. She could practically _feel_ the Schnee Matron's icy glare from where she was standing.

"Oh?" Sienna playfully drawled on, "I guess we _both_ have more in common than I thought, Viktoria..."

The Branwen heard Kali growl in irritation at that.

 _Yiiiikes... wait, why is_ Kali _mad?_

Raven then observed as Viktoria crossed her arms, while rolling her eyes at that remark. The Schnee made it obvious that she _did not_ want to be talking to _Sienna_ about whatever 'common ground' they seemed to have with each other.

"I suppose so..." The white-haired woman droned, "Anyways, since we are done here, I'll be taking my leave now."

Sienna quirked a brow at the woman, "Wait, we've _just_ met, lets get to know each-!"

"We'll have plenty of time to 'get to know' each other at the Vytal Festival _._ " Viktoria swiftly interrupted, " _Tomorrow_."

Before the Schnee Matron could even leave the booth, the Bengal-Faunus grabbed her waist and pulled her close.

The Bengal Tigress gave the unsuspecting Schnee a feral smile, "Why don't we try and get to know each other over dinner. _Tonight._ "

... _WHAT!_

Raven immediately turned to Kali...and almost laughed at the expression on the Cat-Faunus' face. The woman displayed a rather deep frown on her face and looked as if an older sibling took away her most favourite toy.

The Branwen then directed her gaze back at the other two women in the booth, and was surprised to find that Viktoria's icy demeanour had faltered against Sienna's _forwardness_ _._

Viktoria simply stared doe-eyed at Bengal-Faunus, and stuttered.

"W-What...?"

Raven simply scratched her head, and smirked nervously.

 _Things just got interesting..._

* * *

 **Welp... that was an update :P** **LMAOO y'all better brace yourselves for the next couple of chapters because it's gonna be WILD.**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Omg I can't believe this fic is like a year old now!**

 **LOL here's another chapter, my pretties.**

* * *

Velvet adjusted the settings on her camera while she tried to weave around the crowds of people in the midst of the Vytal Festival. The Rabbit-Faunus, along with a number of students in her Arts class, were tasked by T.A Nebula to take a bunch of photos of the Festival for their yearbook. So at the moment, Velvet was trying to find an acceptable vantage point to try and capture the atmosphere of the event.

To create a more fun incentive for the students, their T.A announced that the person who took the best photos would get a prize. However, Nebula didn't disclose what the said 'prize' would be yet.

Also...the fact that Professor Maxwell was going to look over/critique their photos was a pretty big motivator too.

Velvet's mind began to wander at the thought of the esteemed Headmaster of Remnant Arts. Suddenly, she found herself thinking about a certain brown-haired fashionista too. She then whipped out her Scroll out of her pocket, and felt that her ears drooped in disappointment.

"She still hasn't messaged me back..."

The Faunus girl shoved her phone back into her pocket, and sighed.

Velvet hadn't been able to get a hold of Coco ever since she stormed out of the cafeteria from the day before. She texted the fashionista a couple of times, and even called her! But the girl left her on radio silence. So Velvet had to speculate on how she was doing.

Of course, the Rabbit-Faunus tried to be understanding of what Coco was experiencing. She couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through the girl's mind when she more, or less so, saw Maxwell again. It wasn't everyday that a kid reunites with an estranged parent that basically left them during their childhood.

The girl then found herself thinking about a certain blonde who had a very similar experience from her own childhood.

 _Maybe I should get some advice from Yang..._

Velvet sighed once more.

"Are you just going to stand there and sigh all day, kid?" a familiar voice playfully asked.

The Rabbit-Faunus immediately smiled when she recognized who that voice belonged to, and she turned around to greet them.

"Hey Rae!"

The Branwen woman returned her smile and patted the Rabbit-Faunus on the head. "Hey, Velv!"

Velvet swatted at the woman's hand playfully, and continued to beam at her. "Are you finished with your booth already?"

Raven scratched the left side of her face in guilt, and smirked nervously. "Nah, I'm just taking a little break. It's pretty rowdy at the booth right now..."

The Rabbit-Faunus giggled at that, "Is Yang causing a ruckus again?"

"Heh... it's not _Yang_ who's wreaking havoc, I'll tell you that much..." Raven mumbled under her breath. In response, Velvet tilted her head to silently inquire more about what Raven was going on about. Raven, however, just dismissively waved off the Faunus girl's curiosity.

"E-Enough about how I'm doing... how about you?" The Branwen woman asked as she changed the subject altogether, "you were sighing pretty heavily, Velv."

At the sudden prompt, the Rabbit-Faunus scratched the back of her head, and laughed awkwardly.

"I-I'm just thinking about Coco and what's going on with her..."

"Ah... I see." Raven hummed in understanding, "I heard about that from Rubes and Yang. How are you feeling, kiddo?"

In that moment, the Faunus girl decided to vent out her feelings. And apparently, she had a lot of pent up thoughts and emotions regarding this whole situation. Once she started talking about it, she felt like she was finally letting out a breath that she didn't know she was holding in.

"I just wanna know what I can do for her, y'know?" Velvet began, "I care about her _so much_ and I don't want her to think that she's alone in all of this..."

Raven shrugged, "Then let her know that."

"How can I do that when she's already starting to shut me out?!" Velvet blurted out. She then winced at the tone that she took, but after a moment she let out a long breath to calm herself down. "I mean... she's not answering any of my calls, and I've been _trying_ to get in touch with her all day-"

"Why don't you tell her now?" Raven interrupted as she pointed towards the direction that was behind the Faunus girl.

Velvet whipped her body around to see if Coco was actually in their general vicinity. She immediately perked up when she found that the fashionista was standing by a vacant booth. It seemed like she was waiting for someone, and judging by the slightly annoyed expression on her face, the brown-haired girl had probably been waiting for a while.

Velvet was about to take a step towards the girl, but then something seemed to keep her in place. All her doubts began to slowly creep their way into her mind and she began to hesitate. However, before she could get completely stuck inside her head, the Branwen woman behind her interrupted her train of thought.

Suddenly, the Rabbit-Faunus felt Raven place a hand on her shoulder. The Faunus girl then realized that she was unconsciously tensed up, and she let herself relax from the gesture. She turned her head to face the woman who was offering her comfort, but when she did so...

She was greeted with a rather hard flick to the forehead.

"OW!"

"Don't think about it too much, kid."

Velvet opened her mouth to make a retort, but then she closed it. How could she _not_ overthink it? Instead, she opted to pout at the fact that she had been flicked on the forehead. Raven, on the other hand, took notice of the girl's pout and playfully ruffled the top of her head yet again.

"What I mean is: if you want to help her, then just do it." Raven stated simply, "And if she doesn't want it at the moment, then let her know that you're always going to be there for her when she _does_ need it."

The Rabbit-Faunus gave her a blank stare.

Raven rolled her eyes. "You're in a relationship with Coco, right?"

"I-er, yeah-"

"Then _communicate_ with her." The Branwen woman emphasized, "take it from me, kiddo. If you just sit back and silently assume what you think she needs on your own, then things are going to get lost in translation."

After a moment of digesting Raven's words, the Rabbit-Faunus sighed.

"You're totally right... B-But I just-WHOA!"

Before Velvet could even continue to express her doubts, Raven promptly began to shove her towards the fashionista's direction.

"W-Wait, what are you-?!"

"I'm not gonna let you psych yourself out from solving things with your _girlfriend~_ "

Velvet immediately blushed, and then tried to slow the woman down. "N-No that's not it! If you keep on pushing me like this I'm gonna fa-GAH!"

"Oomf!"

Suddenly, the Rabbit-Faunus found herself pushed up against her said _girlfriend_ , who incidentally seemed rightfully bewildered by Velvet's abrupt appearance. Velvet, who was more _annoyed_ at the fact that she was shoved into another person, whipped around to give Raven a piece of her mind. However, once she turned around...

Raven was nowhere to be found.

The brown-haired Faunus let out a small, and irritated groan.

"E-Er, Velv?"

Coco's voice jolted the Faunus girl back to the present, and she immediately turned back around to properly address the taller girl.

"Coco! Are you alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Velvet exclaimed as she grabbed Coco's face to examine whether she injured it or not.

In response, the fashionista simply smiled down at the girl and leaned her head into Velvet's left hand.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Velv."

The Faunus girl could clearly see the amusement swimming in Coco's eyes, and once she realized that she was doing, the Faunus girl swiftly lifted one of her hands from the other girl's face. However, she decided to let the hand that Coco was leaning on linger a little longer.

Coco took notice of this, and offered the Faunus girl a questioning look. Velvet just smiled back up at her in response.

"Are you really alright?"

"I'm _fine_. You didn't even bump into me that hard-"

"That's not what I meant..." The Faunus girl interrupted. "I mean, with everything that's going on in your life right now, Coco... Are you _alright_? Because I've been trying to get in touch with you for the past couple of hours, but you haven't been answering. So I got a little worried..."

"Wait, you've been trying to _call_ me-?"

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it right now, though!" Velvet continued on, "I just want to let you know that I'm here for you."

The Rabbit-Faunus then slowly wrapped her arms around the taller brunette's shoulders, and held her close.

"I care about you, Coco."

Velvet let her self relax into the embrace when she felt Coco wrap her arms around her too. However, she soon became a little concerned when she felt the other girl's shoulders shake.

 _Is she crying-_

 _Nope. She's laughing._

Velvet pulled back and pouted up at the laughing girl.

"I-I'm not making fun of you, Velv! Trust me, I'm incredibly happy to know that I have your support... it's just..." the girl trailed off.

"What?!"

The Faunus girl was getting increasingly embarrassed with how... _mushy_ she let herself be towards her girlfriend a couple of moments ago.

"...I forgot my phone in my chauffeur's car."

 _...Ohh._

"Yeah, I was too concentrated on speaking with my mother that I completely forgot it in the back of the car. And, since I walked to school this morning, I didn't even realize that it was still there until I actually got to school." The fashionista explained.

Velvet let out a little ' _eep_ _!_ ' when Coco pressed her lips against her forehead.

"But thanks, Velv. It means a lot to me to know that you care."

The Rabbit-Faunus smiled into her embrace, and they stayed like that for a moment. But, before she could reply... Coco's stomach let out a pretty hefty growl.

Velvet giggled, "hungry?"

Coco smiled in embarrassment, "Heh... very."

"I think the booth that Blake and Yang are in charge of is selling food, you wanna go?"

Coco took hold of Velvet's hand, and waited for her to lead the way.

"Yeah, lets go."

* * *

"R-Rubes _let GO!_ "

"NO!"

"These sweets are for _paying customers!_ "

Ruby pouted, and crossed her arms indignantly. "Oh _C'mon_ you _just_ gave Ma like three cookies! I saw it!"

Yang rolled her eyes at her sister, "Well... Ma is currently stuck in a hilarious situation between two kitties and your girlfriend's Mom. So she _deserves_ the free cookies!" The blonde then ignored Ruby's protests and turned towards Blake, "you're going to have to explain that whole situation to us, Blakey."

Blake playfully scoffed, and opened her mouth to answer the blonde's inquiry about the nature of the relationship between Sienna and her mother. However, before she could even begin to explain _who_ Sienna was...

 _THUD!_

 _"_ Dammit, you _brat!_ You did this on purpose!"

Everyone whipped their heads around to witness yet another argument arise between one Kali Belladonna and Sienna Khan. However, once Blake actually processed what happened between the two Faunus women, she had to stifle her laughter.

This time... her mother really crossed a line.

Because, well...

Sienna seemed to be drenched in what was presumably soda.

 _"_ I did no such thing on purpose! And don't call me a _brat,_ I'm not a _child._ " The Belladonna Matron retorted indignantly, "The freaking can must've been shaken up when it fell from the vending machine! _"_

 _"Were you shaking the entire vending machine as the soda can fell to the bottom of it?!_ " Sienna roared.

Everyone in their booth seemed to have winced from the volume of the Bengal-Faunus' voice. Hell, even Viktoria and Raven looked a little uneasy from the anger that Sienna displayed. Well... Blake didn't blame the Bengal Tigress for being so frustrated with her mother at all. For the duration that they were manning their booth, the Faunus girl took notice of how her mom truly _was_ acting... _bratty_.

Especially towards Sienna.

And honestly?

It was fucking hilarious.

Kali crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes at the Tigress. "I _told you,_ the can landed at the bottom of the vending machine really hard and-!"

"So _why_ didn't Viktoria's soda can _explode_ all over her?! We got the _same drink._ " Sienna growled between gritted teeth. "Did you not get our drinks from the same machine?"

Blake smiled exasperatedly at her mother.

 _Busted..._

Kali's eyes widened in panic, and she began to explain her actions in futility. "I-er, Well-AHH!"

The Faunus girl quirked a brow at what the Bengal Tigress did next. The people at her own booth, however, let out amused smiles and drank the sight in. Even Aurelia and Summer playfully cat-called at Sienna as she basically stripped herself of her black tank-top, leaving her in a sports bra. As a result, the Tigress revealed her rather impressive physique, and exposed all of her Tribal Faunus tattoos for the world to see.

Blake then opted to see how Raven and Viktoria reacted to this situation. One one hand, Raven just seemed like she was _tired_ of the whole ordeal. There was a trace of amusement swimming in her eyes, but overall she looked like she wanted to leave the booth as soon as possible. Viktoria, on the other hand...

Full on _checked out_ Sienna.

Blake didn't even need to observe her own mother to know how she reacted to Sienna's actions.

Yang laughed at the scene unfolding in front of them, and nudged the Faunus girl's side. "Were they best friends or something? Even though they're arguing, I can tell that they really get along."

The Faunus girl smirked, and swiftly slapped Ruby's hand from the sweets that she tried to stealthily grab.

 _'Ow!_ '

"Close..." Blake egged on. "They're sisters."

"W-WHAT?!" Summer abruptly chimed in. "Kali _never_ told us anything about having a sister when we went to Beacon!"

Blake shrugged, "I don't really know the specifics, but Sienna's my mom's adoptive older sister. She probably didn't tell you guys about her because Sienna had a bit of a falling out with the rest of the family before they moved to Vale."

Summer raised her brows at that, "No _way..._ "

"It's true." Blake affirmed. "After graduating from their school in Menagerie, Sienna planned to join the White Fang. She tried to convince my mom to do it too. But my grandparents found out, and got in a huge fight with Sienna about it." The Faunus girl continued on, "At the time, the Faunus were pretty divided when it came to their opinions on the White Fang. My grandparents were part of the faction who avidly disagreed with the way they wanted to do things."

"Wait, so Sienna _wanted_ to join the White Fang?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Not just _wanted_ to... she actually did it."

Suddenly, Aurelia decided to join in and thoughtfully hummed. "Now that I think about it... I can recall one of the old White Fang representatives going by the name Khan... was that...?"

Blake nodded.

In response, the Nikos Matron let out a low whistle. "Wow... Sienna didn't just _join_ the White Fang, she helped _lead_ them."

The Rose-Xiao Long sister's, and Summer's jaws dropped at the revelation. Blake, on the other hand, simply nodded yet again to confirm Aurelia's statement.

"So is she still a part of-?"

"No." The Faunus girl answered promptly. "By the time I was born, Sienna had already stepped down from her position from the White Fang. They somewhat reconciled when mom came back to Menagerie. I vaguely remember meeting her a handful of times when I was very young, but that was a long time ago. I actually didn't recognize her right away yesterday. Her hair used to be a lot longer back then. But they seem to be on good terms now..."

When she was finished with her story about Sienna, everybody stood at the booth in silence. Even Blake herself was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her estranged aunt, who was an _active leader_ of the White Fang, had basically bludgeoned her way back into their lives. She still didn't how how she felt about the whole ordeal yet.

Out of nowhere, the bickering between the two Faunus sisters caught everyone's attention again. When Blake turned her head once more to see what was going on, she was met with a rather funny scene.

Kali basically ripped one of the tapestries from their booth down and tried to drape it over Sienna's body. The Bengal-Faunus fought against the Belladonna Matron, and then made an underhanded comment about how Kali was just _jealous_ that a certain Schnee was checking her out. This resulted in the said Schnee immediately becoming flustered and incoherently protesting the Tigress' words.

"Jeez... now that I know that they're sisters, I can see the resemblance." Summer remarked. "Sienna's been flirting with _all_ the customers _and_ Viktoria the whole day..."

Aurelia snorted, "at least we now know where Kali gets it from."

Blake, along with the rest of the women at her booth, laughed at that.

"Oooh, what's so funny?"

"Yeah, what'd we miss? You guys look like you're having fun."

The Faunus girl turned her head towards the familiar voices, and greeted them with a smile. Yang, on the other hand, obnoxiously made a spectacle about their sudden appearances.

"Hey! If it isn't our favourite coffee-themed couple~"

Blake nudged the blonde's side, and rolled her eyes. "Hey guys."

"Hey Blake! So what's all... _that,"_ The Rabbit-Faunus trailed off as she pointed at the amusing scene occurring at the other booth, "all about?"

"Oh it's nothing really," Ruby interjected, "that's just Blake's estranged aunt, flirting shamelessly with Miss Schnee."

Velvet simply let out a small 'oh' as she tried to process the simple statement that Ruby just made. Coco, however, perked up at the last part of Ruby's sentence.

"Speaking of Schnee's, where's Weiss?" the fashionista asked the younger girl.

"I thought she was meeting with you or Blake." Ruby shrugged. "She took off earlier, and told me that she had 'previous engagements' with someone. I thought it was with one of you guys. Why?"

Coco sighed, "It's nothing really. She just wanted to borrow a study guide from me. She told me to meet her by one of the booths at the Vytal Festival... but what she didn't take into account was that there are _dozens_ of booths here..."

The brown-haired girl's words made Ruby frown, and even Blake thought it was rather strange. Before their lectures ended, Weiss said nothing about meeting up with someone. And she seldom hung out with anyone else outside their trio.

Ruby, however, immediately bounced back and waved it off.

"Meh, she's probably alright. She said that she would meet us back here, so it should be fine."

Despite the hyperactive redhead's positivity, Blake couldn't help but feel uneasy at this new piece of information.

 _Where is she?_

* * *

 _"UGH!_ Where _is_ it?!" Weiss grumbled under her breath.

For the past couple of minutes, the former heiress had been searching for the place that she had been instructed to meet-

 _Oh my God, did the elitists really have to pick a venue that was two streets away from the actual Vytal Festival itself!?_

When Weiss finally made it to the venue made for the elite families and students of Remnant, she immediately felt suffocated by the jarringly different atmosphere of their event from the other one. The lively laughter and vibrant colours of the commonplace's festival was replaced with classical music, and pale shades of white. The friendly smiles, and welcoming eyes of friends and strangers alike was replaced with eyes filled with judgement and small sneers. Also... the white-haired girl noted that there wasn't a single Faunus in sight.

Weiss hated it.

Suddenly, in the corner of the former heiress' eye, the so-called gazebo where she was supposed to meet that _damn man_ appeared. She could vaguely see the back of his build, and she had half the mind to throw a freaking glass of champagne at him. However, she decided to not act on this desire and approached the man with calculated poise.

Once she made it to the gazebo, she took notice of how _orchestrated_ everything seemed to be. The gazebo itself was situated in a place that was exclusively secluded from everything else from the event, but somehow it was still open for everyone to _speculate_ what was going on inside of it.

It was intentionally made to be transparent.

Weiss narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

 _He's planning something._

"Weiss!" Jacques' voice jolted her back to reality. He sounded... _happy_ to see her. She then levelled her gaze with his own, and she had to resist the urge to sneer.

The man offered her a jovial smile, but she saw right through it. She could _see_ the calculating expression swimming in his eyes. But, before she could reply to the man accordingly, he went in for a hug.

Weiss' body went stiff, and she felt shivers go down her spine.

"People are _watching_ , girl." Jacques growled against her ear, "Don't do anything _foolish._ "

The former heiress clenched her jaw, and then gently pulled away from the man before her.

She then gave him a threateningly, sweet smile.

"What the _hell_ do you want from me."

* * *

 **Things are gonna be picking up real soon! Braaace yourselves, dear readers. Also... thank you all so much for sticking with this fic for like a year. And, if you're just jumping into this fic right now, I'm grateful for you too! :D Everyone is awesome!**

 **Also:**

 **Happy Pride!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Laughs knowingly and evilly as I chuck this chapter right into your faces.**

 **LOL enjoy, friends xD**

* * *

Weiss observed with satisfaction as her father's composure faltered momentarily.

His 'welcoming smile' briefly transformed into a sneer, but it left as soon as it came. Rather than verbally retaliating to Weiss' question, the man grabbed her by the shoulders and made it seem like he was 'guiding' her to the table situated in the middle of the gazebo.

He then sat her daughter down roughly, and tucked in her chair. The former heiress resisted the urge to cuss the man out for his forceful actions. Instead, she continued to watch as Jacques walked to his side of the table. As he did so, he adjusted the class ring he wore on his left ring finger.

Weiss glared at it.

It was a metal band ring that had very small, and intricate patterns engraved throughout its width. On the front of the ring, one could see the national symbol for Atlas marked on the top of it. What people didn't know, however, was that the symbol was made out of some type of dust stone - which was why it would shine a bright blue hue when it was exposed to the light. That also meant that the symbol wasn't engraved, but actually a raised piece of the object. So it would leave an impressive _mark_ on anything it would come in contact with.

Or in Weiss' case: an impressive _scar._

She hated that fucking ring.

"I'm surprised that you managed to clean that thing off, father."

Jacques' sat down, and composed himself accordingly. "It's made out of stainless dust steel, _girl_." he then narrowed his eyes, "your blood wiped off of it very nicely."

"How good for _you_." Weiss snarled through gritted teeth, "Do tell me where you got it, because I might need one for the future. Just in case if I want to physically _scar_ my own children myself."

The Schnee Patriarch let Weiss' words hang in the air for a moment. The former heiress braced herself for her father's anger, but jumped in surprise from the sudden booming laughter that came out of the man soon after.

She then watched with pre-caution as Jacques wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.

"Considering your _preference_ for the same sex, I didn't think that things like having _children_ was of interest to you."

Weiss scoffed, "there are ways for same sex couples to have babies on their own, father. You can thank your _oh so precious dust_ for that advancement."

"Hmm... unfortunately you are right," Jacques agreed with unconcealed disgust.

At that point, the former heiress' already barely existent patience ran unimaginably thin. If Jacques only called for her to make demeaning remarks about her sexuality, then this was a complete waste of her time. However, something told her that this wasn't the point of their unprecedented meeting.

So she decided to cut to the chase once more.

"I'm only going to repeat this _one_ last time: What the hell do you want from me, Jacques."

Weiss waited patiently as her father considered what he was going to say next. He scrutinized her from across the table, but rather than seeing judgement in his eyes, the former heiress saw entertainment. He seemed to be treating this like a game, and it made the white-haired girl's bravado falter somewhat.

The man in front of her exhaled sharply.

"Salem's daughter told me that you two had a _talk_ , yesterday."

"Yes. We did." Weiss confirmed. She then decided to investigate the topic even more. "What did she _mean_ when she said that we were going to be seeing a lot of each other in the near future?"

Jacques leaned back into his chair, and mockingly smiled at the former heiress. "What do _you_ think she meant by what she said, _child._ "

"Don't tell me that you're _merging_ with Salem's faction through marriage." Weiss scoffed, and rolled her eyes at the man, "Father, I know what you and that _bitch_ have been doing on the side, but this is a pretty bold move. Even for you."

The Schnee Patriarch's smile never left his face. "Close. You're right about the SDC merging with Salem's faction, but it's not going to be through any marriage of _mine._ "

"Then who-?"

 _"_ Rather than that," Jacques interrupted, "we are going to be merging our companies through the union of our children."

Weiss was baffled by her father's declaration, and began to point out the obvious. "Salem has no _sons_ for either Winter or me to marry. So what the _hell_ are you-"

Suddenly, it all clicked in the former heiress' head.

Everything slowly began to piece together. What Cinder had said from the day before. The way that she had invaded her personal space. The way that the dark-haired girl's eyes would seem to possessively claim her whenever their gazes happened to meet. It all made sense now.

And it _enraged_ the former heiress to no end.

Weiss shot up from her chair, and slammed her hands down onto the table. "If you think for even a second that I'm going to agree to marry that _bitch_ then you're more of an idiot than I thought, Jacques."

" _Sit down! You ungrateful cur._ " Jacques seethed as he gripped the edge of his chair's armrests. His smile briefly transformed into an enraged snarl, and the former heiress actually thought for a moment that he was going to raise his hand against her. He then cleared his throat, and swiftly recomposed himself. "as I stated before: there are people _watching._ "

"I could care less about what _these people_ think." Weiss spat back, " _their_ opinions don't matter to me."

Jacques chuckled, and relaxed back into his chair "As opposed to that Ruby girl's opinion?"

"You leave her _out_ of this."

"And what will you do to me if I involve that little girl?" Jacques taunted her, "you have _no power_ over me."

Weiss stormed her way to the Schnee Patriarch's side of the table, and glared down at the man, "Y-You can't just _use_ innocent people to get me to do what you want!"

"I'm the owner of a multi- _billion_ lien company." Jacques stated simply as he stood up to tower over the former heiress. "I can do whatever the hell I want. So if I want to sabotage that child's family and their _business_ , no one can stop me."

The white-haired girl sneered, "We both know that you only own the SDC in _name_. Mother's the rightful heiress to the company."

Jacques smirked mockingly, and walked past the former heiress to look out from the gazebo. Weiss turned to face the man as he walked, and continued to glare at him when he moved his face to the side to catch her gaze. Something about his eyes made her feel uneasy. There was something _sadistic_ , and cruel swimming in them.

His smirk transformed into a wicked smile. "That crone isn't going to do anything about it. I've broken her _years ago_." His expression then became thoughtful, "However, recently I've been noticing small changes in her demeanour... I should keep her in line. She's had enough fun with those unsophisticated _mongrel's._ I'll deal with her _later_."

Weiss' eyes widened in panic, "L-Leave her _alone-!_ "

"I'll do that if you yield to me."

"W-What?"

"Just do as I say, child. You don't want to know what I can do to your mother, and that Rose girl's family."

Weiss stared at the man, aghast. "But why _Salem's_ daughter?!"

"Why not?" Jacques answered simply, "if the SDC merges with Salem's faction then we'll, quite literally, rule all of Remnant! The firepower that her mafia could provide for our company would make us indestructible. And if we consider the fact that you're both _girls,_ the public's opinion of the SDC's inclusiveness would also increase. Nobody loses!"

Jacques then turned completely around to face the girl, and began walking towards her as he announced his conditions to the deal he was offering.

"If you publicly announce that you reclaim the Schnee name, and that you are to be _happily betrothed_ to Salem's daughter... then I will leave Ruby and her family alone." He then shrugged, "I'll even let your mother continue fraternizing with that deplorable Belladonna woman. She is of no use to me, anyways."

He then stopped right in front of her, and stared down at the girl as if he already won.

"The choice is yours, _daughter._ "

* * *

"Daughter, how could you _betray_ me!?"

Ruby playfully rolled her eyes at her dramatic Ma, and waved a perfect chocolate-chip cookie around in the air. "It was either you or the sweets, Ma. And you better believe that I'll always pick the sweets!"

Raven clutched at her heart in mock pain. Everyone else, on the other hand, laughed at their antics.

At the moment, Ruby's dark-haired Ma was calling her out on taking her seat next to their other mother. The young girl was given the choice by a certain Schnee to trade spots with her for a cookie. As a result, Raven ended up sitting smack-dab between two Feline Faunus sisters who were incidentally drinking up a storm.

 _I guess Mrs. Schnee wanted to get back at Ma for something..._

"Aha! Are you getting _drunk already!?_ I thought you were stronger than this, sister!"

"Don't get cocky you little brat!"

"AGH! You got alcohol on my fucking shirt!"

"Whoops ~ My _hand slipped_ , Rae!"

Well... rather than amicably drinking with each other, the Faunus sisters were more so competing.

When the hustle and bustle of the Vytal Festival died down, the women closed down their booths and trekked to the Red Reaper's to have some dinner. Surprisingly enough, Junior actually let the lot of them back in. However, the gruff man had been keeping a close eye on them ever since they stepped back into the pub. She didn't blame him, though. _All_ of the culprits from that one fateful night, save for a certain former heiress, were back at the Red Reaper's and being as rowdy as ever.

Ruby made sure to shoot Weiss a text to let her know where they are.

"Oh is that so?" came Coco's teasing voice, "So if you had a choice between picking Weiss and your precious sweets, then what would you pick?"

The redheaded girl gasped dramatically, and acted appalled by the brown-haired girls question. She then turned her head to answer the girl.

"Do you not know who I am, friend!?" she dramatically began, "My very life force runs on sweets alone! Weiss does give me joy, but I will always choose my swee-!"

"Answer that question carefully, Rose." a familiar, and slightly threatening voice suddenly chimed in.

"-weet Weiss! My Sweet Weiss! I'll _always_ choose her!"

Ruby then turned to properly greet her ' _S_ _weet Weiss,'_ who incidentally was _not_ looking so sweet at the moment.

"H-Hey, Weiss..."

The former heiress narrowed her eyes and stared Ruby down. The hyperactive girl shrunk in on herself with each and every second that passed as her white-haired girlfriend scrutinized her. However, instead of being greeted with a smack upside the head, Ruby suddenly found herself being grabbed by the collar and straight up _kissed_ by the Schnee girl.

On the lips.

In front of _everybody_.

The other girl's actions were immediately met with some good natured hollering from some of the women in their group (specifically from her Ma and sister). Ruby would've grunted in annoyance at their teasing, but she was too busy concentrating at the uncharacteristic display of affection that Weiss was showing. Not that she was complaining, of course. She could totally get used to this.

Finally, Weiss pulled back a little but then brought her lips close to Ruby's ear to make sure she was the only one to hear what she was going to say next.

"I'll always choose you too, Ruby." Weiss whispered.

The hyperactive redhead quirked her brow slightly at those words. Weiss stated them with conviction, and it seemed like she was saying those words more to herself. The young girl was about to question the former heiress, but when she actually saw Weiss' face, Ruby melted at the warm gaze that was being directed at her.

So instead...

Ruby gave the white-haired girl the biggest, goofiest grin.

"Get a room!"

Surprisingly, it was Velvet who decided to totally ruin their moment. Weiss simply rolled her eyes playfully and grabbed the seat across from Ruby.

The redhead stuck her tongue out at the Rabbit-Faunus, "I think Coco's been rubbing off on you too much, Velv."

"Both figuratively _and_ literally," Yang chimed in as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, "you _still_ haven't told us about what you two did together when Coco slept ov-oomf!"

Ruby watched as Blake shoved a fork-full of spicy noodles in the blonde's mouth.

Coco thanked the Faunus girl, "Thanks, Blakey."

Blake shrugged, "I'm just making sure that you don't get kicked out of the pub." she then pointed behind the fashionista, "because said pub's owner is standing right behind you and giving you a rather threatening look."

The hyperactive redhead stifled a snicker as she watched the colour drain out Coco's face. Coco didn't dare to look behind her, but Ruby could clearly see the gruff man crossing his arms and boring holes into the back of the fashionista's head. He was probably getting a little protective because Velvet was basically like a niece that Junior _loved_ to dote on! Hell, Ruby even noticed her own Ma sending the brown-haired girl some warning vibes. And to Raven _,_ Velvet was literally like her adoptive daughter.

Ruby felt nervous on Coco's behalf.

"Junior, we've already been through this," Velvet whined, "Coco and I didn't do anything! So stop scaring her!"

The gruff man silently shook his head with a smile, and patted the top of Velvet's head before leaving to tend to the bar. Once the man finally left, Yang let out a hearty laugh and Coco relaxed into Velvet's shoulder with a small whine.

"I still fail to see the 'teddy bear' part you claim that he has, Velv." Coco muffled into the Rabbit-Faunus' shoulder.

"Oh you just need to get used to him." Velvet giggled, and then kissed the fretting fashionista on the cheek, "In fact, I think he _likes_ you!"

"Who are the ones who need to get a room, again?" Weiss playfully jabbed.

In response, the brown-haired duo simply stuck their tongues out at the former heiress. It looked as if Weiss was going to make a remark back at the two girls, but then everyone's attention was whipped back to a certain drunken Faunus duo, and Ruby's poor Ma.

When the young girl actually directed her gaze towards the trio, she failed to stifle her giggles at the scene she was met with.

Currently having the time of their lives (with the exception of her Ma), the Belladonna-Khan sisters were belting out songs by the Achieve Men at the karaoke machine. However, the machine wasn't even on... so they were basically just singing into a microphone without music.

It was comically horrendous.

Especially considering the fact that Raven was sandwiched between the two _very drunk_ Faunus women. And, rather than being visibly annoyed with the two sisters, Ruby's Ma just looked like she was getting the life sucked outta her.

The hyperactive girl scratched the back of her head.

 _Ma looks like she's had a long day..._

 _What are they-?!_

 _Why are they standing on the table now!?_

Kali soulfully, but very drunkenly, sang into the microphone with unadulterated, comical passion.

"Tell me how~"

"-How I'm hurtin' from this heartbreaak!" Sienna joined in, just as enthusiastically.

"Tell me wha-at~"

"-What turned us into a mistaake!"

"Tell me _whe-en~_ "

"When this pain is gonna go _awaa-ay..._ "

They both then shoved the microphone into Raven's face, and waited patiently for the dark-haired woman to finish the chorus off. After a couple of seconds of stubborn silence, people around the pub began to cheer Raven on. Including the women at their table (especially their Mom; who incidentally was _loving_ every minute of this situation.) Heck, even _Viktoria_ was avidly cheering for her Ma to keep singing. But Ruby was pretty sure that Weiss' mom was more so teasing the dark-haired woman.

Finally, Raven sighed in defeat and then grabbed the microphone.

"But I know that I'll be _okaaaaay_!"

The entire pub erupted in cheers and laughter. With the laughter mostly coming from the Schnee Matron sitting next to Ruby. It was so genuine and carefree that Ruby couldn't help but join her. As she laughed with the white-haired woman, the younger girl absentmindedly glanced towards her girlfriend sitting across from her.

The former heiress was staring on at her mother as the woman continued to laugh, with the smallest of smiles graced upon her lips. There was a warmth that emanated from the white-haired girls gaze... but Ruby could also sense that there was sadness lingering just underneath that warmth.

Ruby was about to question the former heiress, but then the pub abruptly roared in laughter once more. Nothing in particular seemed to have happened, so the young girl figured that the pub's vibe was going to stay energetic for the night.

She made sure to make a mental note of checking up on Weiss in the near future.

 _Maybe I'll ask her about what's going on next time._

* * *

Blake giggled up at the girl who's lap she was laying on.

After the Vytal Festival kick-off from the day before, students and teachers alike had a couple of days off to enjoy the festivities. However, rather than spend time at the Academy, the bumblebee duo decided to hang around at a nearby park. It was there where they situated themselves comfortably on a picnic blanket under the protection of a beautiful willow tree. They were shielded from both the sun and the public eye. So they didn't have to worry about anyone scrutinizing or judging them as they lazed around.

"So... when is Oz going to start the investigation on Adam?"

Yang shrugged, "probably _after_ the Vytal Festival. They wouldn't want to cause an uproar before a huge event like this..."

"He shouldn't even be allowed to fight!" Blake exclaimed, "I even heard that he plays dirty while he's in the ring."

"Everyone knows about that," Yang scoffed, "but since he puts on a good show, _and_ talented... people allow it. Sports are also part of the entertainment business, Blakey."

"I-It's not fair..."

Suddenly, the dark-haired Faunus felt the familiar sensation of Yang's prosthetic hand rubbing circles behind her Cat ears. The sensation immediately made the Faunus girl purr in pure bliss. If Blake was with anybody else, she would've been utterly embarrassed by her own reaction to what was happening at the moment. But since it was Yang herself, Blake felt totally at ease.

"It's okay, Blakey. No need to get worked up about it."

Blake sighed, "But it feels like he's already gotten away with it. What would Oz even find? It's not like there are camera's in the girls locker room. Do you remember anything else that might help out your case?"

"I don't know, Blake... but every time I try to remember what happened, my head gets all jumbled up. He hit me really hard." However, Yang's expression became thoughtful, with her brows furrowing in concentration. "But, now that I think about it, I don't think he was alone..."

The Faunus girl shot up from Yang's lap. "Can you remember who was with him?! Maybe we can convince them to confess or be a witness and-!"

 _Ring! Ring! Ring!_

Both of the girls jumped at the sound of Yang's scroll.

Blake watched as the girl swiftly went to answer said scroll.

"Hey, Mom?" Yang raised her eyebrows in surprise, "W-Whoa, Mom. Slow down, I can't understand- wait, what?!"

Suddenly, the blonde began to shake. Blake quickly placed a hand on Yang's knee to comfort her, and stared on in concern.

"I-Is Ma and Rubes okay!?" She then paused. "Oh thank God... where are you guys right now?"

Yang nodded. "Alright, I'll be there soon."

When she hung up her scroll, Blake was about to ask her what had happened. However, Yang beat her to it and stood up abruptly, with Blake immediately following her lead.

"The Weapon's Shop has been broken into and trashed." Yang began. "They were all still upstairs when it happened, but Ma went down to check it out. Mom said that she didn't get hurt badly, but-!"

The Faunus girl simply grabbed hold of Yang's good hand.

"Let's go."

* * *

 **I'm starting to actually form how I want this fic to end, and I actually cannot wait 'till I get around to it. Not that I'm anywhere _close,_ but we're getting there~ ****LOL and what's RWBY fic without some Schnee family drama, amirite?**

 **Also, that Achieve Man song that Sienna and Kali were singing is supposed to be a crappy rendition of 'I want it that way' xD**

 **Anyways~ I hope you guys are still enjoying the fic!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	35. Chapter 35

**Smiles knowingly as I present to you this chapter.**

 **LOOOL enjoy my dear readers.**

* * *

Weiss pushed past the small crowd of people surrounding Ruby's weapon's shop and home. As the former heiress got closer to the small building, she could feel a pit form in her stomach when she saw the damage that had been done.

The front display window was smashed in, with glass littered everywhere in both the front and the inside of the store. From where she was standing, Weiss could see that many of the display tables were either flipped or broken into pieces. Even the shelves were broken and scattered throughout the establishment. The cloths that adorned and decorated the store were ripped, weapons were either ruined or stolen; it also seemed like the perpetrators tagged the walls with spray paint. It was absolute chaos.

"Weiss!"

The white-haired girl immediately turned her body towards the familiar voice.

"B-Blake!" Weiss breathed out a sigh of relief, "I-Is everyone alright?! I just got here."

"I just got here too, and yeah. Everybody's safe." Blake answered, but then she looked off to the right where two police cars were parked.

Weiss followed her line of vision and saw the Rose-Branwen Family explaining the situation to the police. Summer and Ruby seemed shaken up by the whole ordeal, whereas Yang looked as if she was actively trying not to hunt down the perpetrators herself. However, once Weiss got a glimpse of how Raven was faring...

She let out a small gasp.

"Well... Raven got injured trying to fight off the attackers," Blake continued on. "They said the injury wasn't too serious, but it'll most likely leave a scar."

Weiss watched as a medic wrapped a bandage around Raven's forehead. The dark-haired woman herself didn't show that she was in pain. Although her eyes exhibited her weariness, Raven just seemed more worried; especially on her family's behalf. The former heiress noticed how the Branwen woman would constantly flit her gaze back to her family, and that she became more antsy as the medic took their time assessing/treating her injuries.

Weiss could tell that the woman just wanted to be with her wife and kids.

"Did they rule out foul play?"

Blake shook her head, "I was with them when they were being questioned earlier. The officers were asking them about what happened, and not necessarily about who could've done it." The Faunus girl then scowled, "they were being outright dismissive when either Raven or Summer would start asking questions about that."

"I see..."

The former heiress tried to conceal the utter _rage_ that she felt upon hearing that last statement.

Her feet automatically walked towards the direction of the store. She could hear Blake call out to her, but her mind was focused on finding the _one thing_ that she knew would confirm her thoughts about who was responsible for all of this. When the former heiress finally entered the broken-down store, she immediately directed her gaze to anything that had been tagged with spray paint.

Weiss scrutinized all of the images/phrases tagged on the walls as she carefully manoeuvred around the wreckage within the establishment. There were a number profanities spray painted on various surfaces, but there was one _image_ that stood out more than the rest. She stopped right in front of the door behind the register counter; the very door that led to the second floor of Ruby's home. Her blood began to boil at the sight of the image before her.

A simple image of a Seer Grimm, with a large, red eye. Staring right back at her.

It was a symbol that could've been easily overlooked as some fanatic's strange form of artistic expression. However, Weiss knew what it really stood for.

 _Salem...!_

At that point, the white-haired girl's body began to shake. But before she was completely engulfed in her anger, Weiss felt a set of arms wrap around her shoulders. Her senses then picked up the familiar, sweet scent of roses. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The former heiress just let the younger girl hold her, with Ruby's head resting in between her shoulder blades.

"Ruby, I-!"

"Who would _do this_?"

Weiss didn't know how to answer that. So she remained silent, and let the girl vent.

"The police just ruled it out as petty vandalism done by some kids... but this felt _personal_. There's way too much damage to chalk this up as teenagers playing a prank."

The former heiress tried her hardest to keep calm for the girl. She wanted nothing more than to make Jacques pay for what he had done. However, she knew that wasn't what Ruby needed right now.

Weiss turned around and properly embraced the distraught redhead. Ruby simply burrowed her head into the white-haired girl's collarbone, and relaxed into Weiss' arms. As the former heiress held the younger girl, she could feel the anger that she initially felt slowly subside.

"How's Raven?"

Ruby sighed, "She's safe. To be honest, Ma was more worried about Mom and I." she then chuckled, "she almost knocked out the medic for taking too long on assessing her injuries..."

"Yeah, that sounds just like her..."

"You should've seen _Yang_ earlier though!" the hyperactive redhead exclaimed, "she was really close to punching the cop! Especially when he made some really passive-aggressive remark about Ma's past being a probable cause."

Weiss quirked a brow at the girl, "Yang could've gotten arrested! Was it Raven who-?"

"It was Blake."

The former heiress stared disbelievingly, "How did _Blake_ manage to stop that brute?!"

"I dunno... it was actually pretty impressive," Ruby began, "Blake actually held my sister back, yanked her to the side, and then started to list a bunch of reasons why knocking out a cop wouldn't be good for our situation." the younger girl then smiled, "and Yang actually _listened_."

Upon hearing that brief explanation, Weiss directed her gaze at the bumblebee duo outside of the store. Both of the girls were sitting at a curb across the street, with Yang very clearly speaking angrily, and Blake patiently listening with a hand on the other girl's knee. The blonde seemed visibly upset by what the cop said about Raven, which sparked the former heiress' curiosity.

"What did the officer say about Raven's past?"

"Oh... uh it was about something that happened a while ago..." Ruby slowly began, "Y'see, Ma was part of a pretty notorious gang. I was actually pretty surprised when you, Coco, or Blake didn't recognize who she was when she introduced herself." the redhead laughed awkwardly.

"I mean, the _Branwen Clan_ was pretty well-known throughout Remnant..."

When Ruby uttered the name of the gang, Weiss raised her brows in genuine surprise.

In hindsight, she probably could've connected the dots about Raven's identity. That particular gang was well-known for its obsession with the avian species, and there were rumours about the entire clan being named after birds. They were also known for their signature blood-red eye colour.

From what Weiss could recall from her general knowledge, the Branwen Clan used to be involved in a number of bank robberies and violent crimes. They basically ruled over a couple of small villages and cities in Mistral when they were in their prime. However, there was a scandal that happened about fifteen years ago which resulted in the cessation of their gang activities.

It had to do with the most recent leader basically selling out their entire family, and a bunch of other big name gangs too...

"Wait... Raven-?!"

Ruby nodded, "Heh... yeah."

 _Wow..._

"Wow."

The redhead giggled, "that's not usually the reaction that I get when people find out about my Ma, but I'll take it."

Weiss then frowned, "and the officer made a remark about it, right to her _face_?!"

 _Hell... I'd want to punch the cop too._

"I mean, he mentioned it as a suggestion to explain why our place got trashed... but we all know that he said it to insult her." Ruby sighed. "It's nothing that hasn't happened before, either. But Yang's usually the one who gets the most angry on our Ma's behalf."

Weiss simply nodded in understanding after Ruby disclosed that part of Raven's rocky past. The former heiress then had to conceal the feeling of unease that crept into her body when she realized that this could be used as a potential vice against the Rose-Branwen family. She knew that Jacques was not above sending an innocent person to prison.

However, instead of feeling weak against her father's tyranny, Weiss honestly just felt frustrated.

Well, actually...

The girl was _pissed_.

There was no way _in hell_ that she was going to let her father ruin this for her. Ruby and her family mattered way too much to just be an "option" that she had to choose.

Anyways... Weiss already told Ruby that she'd always choose _her_.

A wave of determination suddenly engulfed the white-haired girl, and her resolve finally stabilized.

 _I'm going to pay that bastard a visit..._

* * *

Viktoria awoke as the rays from the outside world seeped in between the blinds of her bedroom window.

The white-haired woman slowly sat up on her bed, and drawled out a yawn. Her exhaustion from the day before was definitely catching up to her in that moment. As she recalled the events from the night prior, a small smile made its way onto her face.

It was entertaining to see Kali interact with Sienna. She could really tell that the two Faunus sisters were incredibly close at one point in their lives. They were also very similar in terms of their personalities.

 _Especially_ with the way they flirted.

The Schnee Matron rolled her eyes at herself, and let out a sigh.

"What the hell am I doing..."

She knew that _whatever_ all of this with Kali was... couldn't go on any longer. Not without Jacques medalling his way in and destroying everything. For the past couple of days, the white-haired woman had actually been anticipating her husband to do _something_ to ruin it. But surprisingly, it seemed like the man didn't care at all.

 _knock! knock! knock!_

Viktoria jolted slightly at the intruding sound.

"Ms. Schnee?" came the kind, muffled voice of the Schnee family's butler. "Would you like to eat some breakfast in the dining room? Or would you prefer it if I bring it to you?"

The Schnee Matron relaxed, "Ah-, that's alright, Klein. You don't need to walk all the way back to my room to bring me breakfast, I'll go to the dinner table myself. Thank you."

"Then please allow me to accompany you to the dining room, Ms. Schnee." Klein responded, "I'm heading that way myself."

Viktoria got up from her bed, and donned on one of her many robes over her night gown. She then swiftly opened the door to her room, and smiled at her old friend.

"Thank you, Klein. I would love that."

The short, robust man simply smiled back at her, "the pleasure is all mine, Ms. Schnee."

"How long have we known each other for, Klein?" Viktoria playfully huffed, and crossed her arms. "It's just the two of us right now. Call me by my _name_."

Klein sighed exasperatedly at the Schnee, but nevertheless did as he was told. "Alright, _Viktoria_. But if I so much as catch a glimpse of your tyrannical husband, I'm switching back to calling you by your last name... and I'm walking the _other way_."

Viktoria grinned, and then nodded in understanding at her friend's words. The last time Klein got caught acting 'too casually' with Viktoria, Jacques almost fired him right there on the spot. However, the white-haired woman put her foot down at the time. Klein had been working for their family ever since Viktoria was a child. She basically grew up with the man, and had the pleasure of watching him advance in his butler career. He was something akin to a close cousin to the Schnee.

Klein was also one of the only people who would care to talk to her in this home.

Even when she wasn't in her right state of mind.

"How are your daughters, by the way?" Klein suddenly asked as they walked at a leisurely pace, "I heard that Weiss started her studies at Beacon Academy, and Winter just got home from the military."

"They're... managing, I suppose. Winter's trying to find a place of her own, but is staying at the Belladonna's right now." Viktoria more or less so replied. She then smirked, "Weiss, on the other hand, is in a relationship with a daughter of one of my old friends."

"One of your old friends?" Klein drawled on as he quirked a brow, "you mean, from _your_ days at Beacon?"

"Oh yes." Viktoria confirmed with a small smile, "and she's _Summer's_ child, no less."

"How interesting!" Klein commented with entertainment laced within his voice, "they must be an entertaining pair to see. If I can recall correctly, your friend Ms. Rose was a rather hyperactive person."

"Her daughter's no different."

"Is that so?"

Viktoria simply hummed to affirm the man's inquiry.

Soon, their conversation entered a silent, but comfortable lull. All that could be heard was the muted sound of their footsteps, tapping lightly against the marble floor. Viktoria took notice of how the sound seemed to echo for ages as they walked. She then mindlessly observed their surroundings.

Any normal guest would be convinced that the interior design of the Schnee Manor was the epitome of elegance. What with the spacious, long white halls, and the tasteful portraits of the previous Schnee's, evenly spaced out on the walls. Then there were the chandelier lights that illuminated the area with a soft, incandescent glow; and the windows at the end of the hall that were the size of the walls themselves, pouring natural light into the Manor.

But what people didn't know was that the extravagance of it all just served as a distraction. It was a mirage.

The spacious hallways only amplified, but paradoxically hid, the resounding loneliness and regret that constantly engulfed the Schnee Matron; especially on the nights when she would drink. The portraits of her ancestors before her seemed to stare in judgement; in disdain. The lights that shone down from the ceiling would create shadows that followed her wherever she went. And the window at the end of the hall... well...

The window tempted her with a way out.

Throughout the years, she found herself inching her way towards that window.

But now...

Now she's glad that she never made it to the end of that hall.

"Viktoria?"

Viktoria snapped out of her reverie, and turned to face her friend. The man was waiting for her by the doors that led to the dining room, and stared on with concerned eyes. The Schnee Matron simply waved him off, and let out a small apology for her absentmindedness. Once Klein finally opened the doors, she heard the sound of cutlery _clinking!_ against a plate.

A sense of dread washed over her body. Interacting with Jacques was one of the last things she wanted to do at the moment, and she knew that it wouldn't end well if they actually did see each other face-to-face. However, she also knew that prolonging the inevitable was also a waste of time too. So she decided to walk into the dining room with as much poise she could muster up.

"How nice of you to finally join us, Viktoria."

The white-haired woman quirked a brow at the familiar voice, and had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes when she found out who it belonged to.

Sitting before her was Salem, eating breakfast... _in her own damn home_.

Then there was Jacques, who was eating at the head of the dining table like nothing was inherently _wrong_ with the pale woman being there. Viktoria didn't know if she should have felt angered by this situation. She knew that she wasn't surprised, though. Whenever they attended social gatherings, Jacques and Salem made no effort in hiding whatever the hell was going on between them. And honestly? Viktoria didn't even care. Not anymore.

That wasn't going to stop her from making a remark.

"The last time I checked, I was positive that this was _my home_ , Salem."

"Vik-! Ah, Miss. Schnee." Klein interjected, "My apologies. I wasn't aware that Mr. Schnee was entertaining a _guest_. I would have informed you accordingly so that you may have been... more prepared."

In other words, he would've let her know that the blasted woman was here so she could have completely avoided this situation. Viktoria simply gave the man a tired smile to communicate that she wasn't angry with him at all. She then promptly dismissed him to continue with his daily activities, and he went on his way. Once he left the dining room, Jacques finally decided to chime in.

"I genuinely don't know why that man is still around." Jacques stated with distaste.

"I could say the same thing about _Salem_ ," Viktoria spat back.

Jacques quirked a brow at the white-haired woman. Salem, on the other hand, displayed a small smirk on her lips at the nerve that Viktoria seemed to have at the moment. The Schnee Matron stood her ground, and stared unapologetically back at the man she had to call her husband.

"I'll give you _one_ chance to take that back, dear _wife_."

"I'll give you one chance to escort our _dear guest_ out of here."

 _SLAM!_

Viktoria visibly winced at the sudden noise. Despite the outburst, she continued to hold her ground against the man who just slammed his hand against the table. For a brief moment, she flitted her gaze towards the third party in the dining room. The Schnee Matron noted that Salem was staring right at Jacques with an unreadable expression on her face. But before she could continue to dwell on that thought, Jacques took hold of her attention once more.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that in my own home, you insolent woman!" Jacques growled as he shot up from his chair, "who the hell do you think you are?"

Something seemed to snap in Viktoria. It was the fact that Jacques had the audacity to claim ownership to a place that was never his to begin with that got her blood boiling. Throughout the years, the blasted man had never explicitly claimed the countless riches that were _given_ to him by the Schnee family name. At least, he never did so in front of her; and it was because they _both_ knew that he never truly earned any of it. _None_ of this actually belonged to him!

So to say that she was pissed was an understatement.

She was outright _enraged_.

Before she knew it, the white-haired woman was _stomping_ her way towards him.

"This was _my home_ long before it was yours, Jacques!"

Viktoria watched as the man clenched his right hand into a fist. "You're forgetting your _place_ , Viktoria." Jacques snarled. "Would you like me to remind you of what I'm capable of?"

The Schnee Matron was ready to retaliate against Jacques' threat, but then the sudden commotion behind the doors that opened into the dining room interrupted her.

"Where is he!?" a muffled voice demanded.

"W-Weiss?"

"Whoa, princess! Slow down!"

Viktoria recognized one of the voices as Klein. But the other one was oddly familiar; she furrowed her brows as she wracked her brain to try and figure out who that voice belonged to.

"Sienn-? What are you doing- Ugh, never mind that doesn't matter right now." Weiss' voice came through, "where the hell is Jacques?"

There was a pause. But then Sienna answered the girl's question. "Your father is in the dining room- Ah-"

 _SLAM!_

Suddenly, Weiss shot through the dining room doors with Sienna in tow. Her daughter glared at the man sitting at the head of the table. The Bengal Tigress, on the other hand, leaned against one of the doors and observed the interaction with entertainment swimming in her eyes.

"Ms. Khan," Jacques growled through gritted teeth, "shouldn't you be doing your _job_ and preventing outsiders from coming in here?"

Sienna shrugged, "I'm _Salem's_ bodyguard. I'm not here to protect _you_ , Mr. Schnee."

Viktoria whipped her head around to stare at the pale woman when she heard that statement. Salem was simply gazing at Sienna with exasperated mirth, and appeared to be sharing the entertainment that the Bengal-Tigress was feeling from this situation. However, once the woman directed her eyes towards Viktoria's daughter, she seemed genuinely confused as to why she was here.

Weiss ignored everybody else in the room, and slammed both of her hands against the table.

"Stay the _fuck_ away from Ruby's family."

* * *

"Stay the _fuck_ away from Ruby's family."

Weiss continued to glare at the man who had the audacity to treat her friends as puppets. These were the lives of _real people_ that he was toying with, and Jacques truly didn't think about how his actions could literally ruin their lives. No, instead he revelled in the fact that he some form of control over them.

It was infuriating.

Jacques simply stared back at her with a calculated expression. "I guess Salem's henchman didn't do a good enough job of trashing the place if you still have the nerve to defy me..." He then scoffed, "I didn't know what I was expecting, though; hiring a bunch of _Faunus_ to do the job..."

Weiss heard Sienna growl at the last part of Jacques statement.

Even Weiss herself was ready to make a remark, but she was interrupted by a certain _pale_ woman.

" _My_ henchman?"

Jacques regarded the woman who spoke. "Ah, yes. I used a couple of your men to do some dirty work."

Weiss observed Salem as she digested this information. It would seem that the woman wasn't made aware of his plans, and that she was genuinely... irritated by what he was disclosing to her.

"You do realize that my faction isn't actually a mafia, Jacques." Salem sighed, and rubbed one of her temples. "I've only assumed that title to gain notoriety and establish a target audience. So if my men get caught doing _any_ kind of crime, it's going to reflect badly on _me_."

Jacques scoffed, "Relax, I made sure to hire your _Faunus_ workers so you could cover it up as them acting like savages."

The former heiress felt enraged by Jacques' sheer disregard for the Faunus race. However, instead of interjecting her opinion, she opted to let Salem react to his words. And, judging by the look on Salem's face, Weiss had a feeling that the woman was severely unimpressed by the Schnee Patriarch's excuse.

"Regardless of _race_ , my workers are _still my workers_." Salem simply stated, "if you want to _use them_ then you have to run your little plans by _me._ "

Jacques' quirked a brow at the woman, but nevertheless yielded. "Noted."

Weiss watched as Jacques' semi-agreement to Salem's demands seemed to placate the woman. Despite that small interaction, the white-haired girl still wanted to get _her own_ point across.

"While we're on that _note._ " Weiss interjected, "why don't you stay out of my personal affairs while you're at it."

"You don't have any say in any of this, child." Jacques spat back, "when are you going to finally learn your _place_!?"

The white-haired girl scornfully laughed right at the man's face. " _You_ of all people shouldn't be lecturing me about 'knowing _your place_.'"

She then stomped her way towards his end of the table, and stopped directly in front of him. "Considering that you don't actually _own_ the Schnee Family Heritage, I would say that it's _you_ who doesn't know where their _place_ is, Jacques."

"You insolent little bitch!" the man roared as he towered over her. "I should've sent her men to deal with you instead!"

Weiss' eyes widened in utter shock at Jacques' words. In reality, she truly shouldn't have been surprised that the man would stoop so low as to entertain the thought of harming his _own child_. But hearing him say it out loud, in front of other people no less, still had some kind of effect on her. She let Jacques' words sink in, but then decided that enough was enough.

"It doesn't matter _who_ you send to deal with me." Weiss scoffed humourlessly. "I'm not going to let you control me. I'm not your _fucking puppet!_ You don't _own me_."

The former heiress then stared right into Jacques' eyes with determined ferocity.

"This life is _mine_!"

For a split second Weiss saw that Jacques' demeanour had faltered against her words. However, all of his animosity came flooding back in all at once, and the white-haired girl braced herself as he watched the man raise his hand. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was the image of Jacques' fist with his class ring, coming right towards her.

 _SMACK!_

Weiss winced at the sound, and prepared herself for the pain that was going to ensue.

She didn't feel anything.

The white-haired girl furrowed her brows, and dared to open her eyes.

She saw traces of blood splattered on top of the dining room table, but she knew that it didn't belong to her. Weiss then directed her gaze at the woman who stood between her and her father. She let out a small gasp from the scene that her eyes were met with.

Viktoria had her back towards her, so Weiss couldn't actually see her face. But she could see that the woman was holding her hand against her right eye. She also watched as the blood trickled down her mother's arm while she continued to apply pressure on her new wound.

Viktoria breathed out raggedly, and stood her ground against the Schnee Patriarch.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on _my daughter_."

* * *

 **B-B-BOOOOOOOOM!**

 **DID Y'ALL REALLY THINK THAT I WAS GONNA MAKE WEISS ALL WEAK AGAINST HER FATHER!? Heeeeeell nooo! xDDDD**

 **Also, 'Salem's Faction' is something akin to a bodyguard-type of business. Not really going to explain it in detail in the fic itself, so I wanted to clarify it here. She provides a service for people who wants/needs 'special protection.' So she took advantage of the whole 'Mafia' label to instil fear into any other businesses that wanted to try and take her down.**

 **Ik it's a little strange, but there's a bit of an explanation for y'all... *shrugs in meh***

 **Sit tight for the impending Bees and Bunnies!**

 **Ahahaha! I hope you liked it!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	36. Chapter 36

**Hellooooooo :D Here is a chapter for you lovely humans!**

* * *

Coco stretched herself out on the extremely comfy sofa that she slept on last night, and tried to shield her eyes from the incoming rays of sun that poured into the small apartment. She let out a little groan as she extended her arms above her head, but then furrowed her brows when she realized that the girl who was lying on the couch with her seemed to be absent.

"Maybe I should invest in one of those adjustable beds if you're going to be sleeping over more often..."

The fashionista turned her head towards the girl who spoke, and smiled. "There's no need to do that, Velv."

Velvet, who was currently preparing some breakfast for the both of them in the kitchen area, gave Coco a sidelong glance and quirked a brow. "Are you sure you don't feel cramped when we're both sleeping on my couch?"

"Not at all." Coco promptly answered. "In fact, I feel a lot more comfortable with you being close to me while I sleep."

The fashionista realized how _corny_ she sounded immediately after confessed that out loud. She could feel her face heating up bashfully from her dorky declaration. However, once she caught a glimpse of the shit eating grin that Velvet displayed in response to her words, Coco felt a little bit less embarrassed about what she said. Sure, Coco was in a relationship with the Rabbit-Faunus... but it still didn't take away from the fact that _acting_ like it made her feel flustered.

She wasn't used to letting herself feel vulnerable in front of others.

Velvet, on the other hand, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself with this side of the fashionista. Seeing as the Faunus girl created somewhat of a habit of teasing Coco every once in a while.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way." Velvet agreed. "So the tiny couch stays!"

As she finished that statement, Coco saw that the Rabbit-Faunus had finished making their breakfast. She noted that the girl decided to go with a pretty basic breakfast ensemble, and made a couple of tater tots along with some scrambled eggs. Not that the brown-haired girl was complaining, of course. It smelled and looked delightful.

Coco scoffed playfully at the Faunus girl's dramatic declaration. She then made the decision to get up from the couch and help the Faunus girl transfer the food from the kitchen to the coffee table. She let out a little groan as she pushed herself off the couch, and then stretched her arms above her head once more when she stood up. The brown-haired girl could feel that her shirt rode up as she did this action, and she just let the Faunus girl in front of her 'enjoy the view.'

Once she dropped her arms back down to her sides, Coco had to stifle a giggle when she caught her girlfriend trying to recover from basically ogling her body.

"See something you like?"

Velvet snapped out of her reverie, and then gave the fashionista a lopsided smile, "I can't say that I don't."

"Maybe you should take a picture, then." Coco winked. "Since you're an aspiring photographer and all..."

Coco observed as a playful glint entered the Rabbit-Faunus' eyes. She continued to watch as a sense of hunger seeped into the other girl's gaze while she began to openly check out the fashionista's body. This sudden intense scrutinization caused Coco to falter a bit, and she tried to gulp down her nervousness from being so thoroughly examined.

However, Velvet flashed Coco an innocent smile once they regained eye contact.

"If you don't mind being a nude model, then I'll take you up on that suggestion."

...

Coco all but whipped a couch pillow at Velvet.

 _Good God! This girl is daring for a freaking Rabbit-Faunus!_

Velvet laughed at Coco's reaction. "What?! There _is_ going to be a unit where we'll need nude models!"

"Shut up! We both know that you didn't entertain that idea for _school!_ "

The Rabbit-Faunus smirked deviously to confirm her accusation.

After a moment, they both silently agreed to end the flirtatious banter and actually eat the breakfast that Velvet prepared. Much like during their dinner date, the girls ate their food at the small coffee table situated in the middle of the Faunus girl's apartment. Every once in a while, they would trade small glances and smiles, but for the most part the girls talked leisurely about random nonsense.

"Did you submit your photos from the Vytal Festival yet?"

Velvet gave her a little nod. "Yup, I left my USB stick with T.A Nebula at the end of the first day. I'm not too sure if I'll win the contest, though. I just ended up goofing around with everybody, and it kinda shows through the photos."

"Well... the Vytal Festival does create a fun and lively vibe..." the fashionista shrugged. "I think you captured the atmosphere perfectly."

"Heh... Thanks, Coco."

Suddenly, the sound of the Rabbit-Faunus' message tone from her scroll interrupted their little moment. Coco watched as Velvet went to read the message that was sent to her. An adorable expression of surprise took over the Faunus girl's facial features as she did so.

"Wow."

Coco quirked a brow, "Everything alright, Velv?"

"Everything's great, actually." She then beamed a smile towards the fashionista, "I was one of the students who won the contest!"

"Congratulations! You deserve it." The fashionista exclaimed as she leaned over the coffee table to kiss Velvet on the cheek. This action was welcomed with a warm smile; one of which Coco reciprocated.

"Soo... what's the prize?"

Upon asking her that very important question, Coco observed as Velvet's Faunus ears twitched in excitement as she continued to read the message on her scroll. While the other girl did so, Coco took it upon herself to move around the table and sit next to her. Velvet's brows then furrowed ever so slightly, which was a gesture that Coco mimicked when she was met with a tentative gaze.

"Er... It's a networking event at Remnant Arts, and the message also says that I could bring a plus one..." Velvet began, but then trailed off. Coco simply waited for the girl to continue on with slowly growing concern.

 _Isn't this like... great news for her? Why is she-_

"But it's going to be hosted by the Headmaster himself."

 _Oh..._

"So your fath-Uh, Maxwell is going to be there." Velvet finished. The Rabbit-Faunus shrugged, "I-I don't need to go... there'll be other opportunities to-WHOA!"

Coco shoved a couch pillow in the Rabbit-Faunus' face to prevent her from finishing that sentence. When the Faunus girl moved the pillow away from her face, the fashionista made sure to give her an annoyed look.

Velvet shrunk under the girl's gaze.

"First of all: Relax, Velv. I'm not actually mad at you." Coco stated as she let out an exasperated huff. "and Second: I know that attending Remnant Arts is your dream." she then rested her forehead against Velvet's, and softened her gaze. "So don't let _anyone_ , including _me,_ get in the way of that."

"So you'll go with me?"

Suddenly, Coco closed the distance between their lips in response to the girl's query. She couldn't help but smile when she pulled away.

"Yes, I would love to."

 _Ring! Ring! Ring!_

"You seem quite popular today." Coco playfully commented.

Velvet rolled her eyes and answered her scroll. "Hey, Yang..."

Coco watched in concern as the Rabbit-Faunus' facial features displayed slight panic.

"W-Wait, what?! I-Is Rae okay?" Velvet paused to let the girl on the other line answer, and then she sighed in relief. "Oh thank God... where are you guys right now?"

The fashionista placed a hand on top Velvet's own, and rubbed small circles to try and comfort her. The girl seemed to be bewildered at what was going on at Yang's end of the the phone call.

"Alright... that sounds good, I'll just tell Junior. I'm sure he won't mind. See ya in a bit..." The Faunus girl promptly ended the call.

Before Coco could even ask what the conversation was about, Velvet had already beat her to it.

"Summer and Raven's store got broken into."

* * *

"I'm so glad that you guys are okay!"

Yang watched in endearment as a certain Rabbit-Faunus pummelled her Ma in an embrace. Raven simply returned the hug, and ruffled the top of the young Faunus girl's head. Velvet then made her way towards Ruby and Summer and greeted them similarly. Soon, the blonde found herself being embraced by the brown-haired Faunus too, and she returned the gesture just as warmly.

"It's gonna take more than a little 'break in' to mess with us!" Ruby exclaimed. Her little sister's declaration was followed by sounds of affirmation coming from the rest of their family, including Yang herself.

All of the women then walked towards the general pub area of the restaurant, and made themselves comfortable by the counter. Coco and Velvet decided to sit at the far end of the area, with Yang and Blake taking the seats right next to them. Summer and Raven, on the other hand, jumped the counter and stood across from them so they could all speak with each other more easily. Ruby joined them on the other side, but then made her way towards the kitchen area; presumably to get some snacks. Their Mom took notice of this, and joined the younger girl in the kitchen. She muttered something about making breakfast before she left.

"Did they break into your home too?" Coco asked.

"No, they didn't," Raven promptly answered, "but the shop's pretty messed up. So we'll be closing it off until we can get the repairs done."

Velvet frowned, "How long is that gonna take?"

"I'm not too sure, kiddo." The dark-haired woman replied apprehensively. "But it's going to be done eventually... so we're not too worried about the details."

The Rabbit-Faunus simply nodded in understanding at Raven's words. She still looked a little concerned about the whole ordeal; what with the way the her ears were flattened in what Yang assumed to be dejection. The blonde was about to reassure her friend, but then stopped herself when she saw Coco snake an arm around the Faunus girl's shoulders. The fashionista whispered something into Velv's ear, and soon enough, the Rabbit-Faunus seemed to cheer up with a small smile.

Yang couldn't help but tease the cute couple.

"Ooooh, what sweet nothings are you whispering to each other?"

Her playful jab was met with two hilariously flustered responses, and one physical jab at her side from one Blake Belladonna.

"Yang, leave them alone."

Yang grinned towards the Faunus girl next to her, and shrugged innocently. "What? They're _adorable_!" She then turned back around to face the couple, and teased them some more. "So did she tell you something _dirty,_ Velv?"

The Rabbit-Faunus elbowed Yang, and scoffed. "Even if she did, it's none of your business."

Yang heard Blake snicker at the way in which the Rabbit-Faunus answered the blonde's question. Then, Yang's grin transformed into a full-blown smile when she heard Coco choke on air in response to Velvet's, surprisingly _suggestive_ , statement.

"A-Ahem-!" Coco beat on her chest for good measure, and then stared incredulously at her Rabbit-Faunus girlfriend. "Velv?! Why would you say it like _that?!_ "

Once she realized what she insinuated with her words, Velvet began to blush profusely. "W-Wait, I mean-! No, she didn't say anything dirty!"

The blonde chuckled at their reactions, but before she could continue with her playful teasing, her little sister joined them... with a ridiculous amount of sweets in her arms (and mouth).

" _Ooofhh! whof's Sthaying Dirthy Thingths?_ " Ruby muffled as she spread her loot all over the counter.

Yang was pretty sure that the redhead found Yatsuhashi's secret stash of snacks. She figured that out because most of the snacks were organic, and there was a countless amount of chocolate flavoured protein bars that Yang herself would sometimes eat too. If she recalled correctly, the older boy was part of Beacon's wrestling team, so it made sense that he had these types of snacks. Ruby, however, either didn't take notice of this fact or didn't care because she continued to blissfully munch on the protein-packed bars.

The blonde simply shook her head at the younger girl, and snagged one of the bars from the counter. "Coco's just whispering sinful dirty-talk into Velvet's ears... _right_ in front of Ma."

Ruby finished snacking on her bar, and decided to join in on the light-hearted teasing. "Oooh how _bold_."

Suddenly, Yang watched as Ruby grabbed yet another bar, and used it as a 'mic.' The blonde could feel a shit-eating grin forming on her lips when she knew where her sister was going with this, and just sat back while Ruby continued on with her shenanigans. The young girl then spoke into the snack with the best 'reporter' voice she could muster up.

"Ms. Branwen!"

Raven, who was incidentally watching the entire interaction with silent mirth, quirked a brow at her daughter and humoured her. "Yes, Reporter Ruby?"

The redhead briefly giggled at the nickname, but then quickly went back into character. "A-Ahem! What are your thoughts about our sweet little Velvet participating in all of this _naughty-talk?_ " Ruby questioned as she shoved the 'mic'-bar into Raven's face.

Raven playfully rolled her eyes, and directed her gaze _right at Coco_ while she answered her redheaded daughter. "As long as they aren't participating in _physically naughty_ activities, then I'm totally fine with it."

This answer was immediately met with laughter; mostly coming from Ruby and Yang herself. Velvet, on the other hand, had a permanent tint of red adorning her cheeks and let out a loud groan.

"Ugh! You guys are so _annoying!_ "

Velvet then gestured accusingly at Ruby, "If anything, 'Reporter Ruby' should be the one being interrogated! Seeing that she actually _does_ participate in _physically naughty_ activities with Weiss!"

Ruby choked on the 'mic' bar that she was chewing on. " _Blerhgh! Ack-!_ Ex _cuse_ _you?!_ "

"Oooooh she threw you under the bus, Rubes!" Yang hollered as she snagged the protein bar out of Ruby's mouth with her good arm. The blonde then took over her sister's role as 'reporter' and shoved the half-eaten bar back into their Ma's face.

"What is your opinion on Ruby getting down and _dirty_ with the Ice Princess, Ms. Branwen!"

As Raven was about to answer her question, Ruby decided to snatch the bar right out of Yang's hand and turn the tables on the blonde.

"Well at least _I'm_ getting some _action_!"

...

All was silent for all of five seconds before the pub was filled with boisterous laughter. Yang could even hear Summer laughing all the way from the _kitchen_.

The blonde fought hard against the blush that was slowly forming on her face, while also resisting the strong urge to tackle her little sister. The brawler then briefly chanced a glance at her own Faunus-girlfriend sitting right next to her. When she did so, Yang was met with an exasperated and slightly embarrassed smile.

Blake also seemed to be giggling at the blonde's expense.

However, instead of feeling all embarrassed about the whole ordeal... Yang couldn't help but laugh a little too; especially since the Cat-Faunus' laugh and smile were just so contagious. Blake naturally had a rather stoic demeanour, which was something that the blonde became quite accustomed to. The dark-haired Faunus mostly displayed her emotions through her eyes (which in itself was a feature that Yang _loved_ about Blake). But when the Faunus girl would actually show that beautiful smile of hers, Yang would just soak in the sight and enjoy the moment.

Suddenly, the blonde briefly felt Blake's lips against her cheek.

When the Faunus girl pulled away, she grabbed Ruby's half-eaten 'mic' bar and spoke right into it.

"I'd say that Yang's getting plenty of action."

Yang felt the goofiest grin make its way onto her face.

The rest of the women at the counter, on the other hand, playfully let out various noises of disgust. With the exception of Raven who simply gushed at the girl's actions by drawling out an 'awwwww!' The blonde was also sure that Summer made the same sound from the kitchen, too.

Coco gagged. "Yang, what have you done to Blake?"

"I guess I showed her the power of true _loove?_ "

Even _Blake_ made a noise towards that statement. "Augh! Okay, now _I'm_ at my limit with all this 'cute-talk.'"

Yang winked at her, "You know you love it."

The Cat-Faunus playfully scoffed, but didn't say anything to deny what Yang said. Shortly after, Summer came barging through the kitchen doors with a small trolley full of breakfast foods for everybody to munch on. Both Raven and Ruby made a beeline for the food after thanking the redheaded woman by pecking each side of her face. Summer then placed two plates of breakfast in front of Yang and Blake; which they gratefully accepted. She asked the brown-haired couple if they wanted some too, but it would seem that they already ate before the rest of the women arrived.

A playful joke was on the tip of Yang's tongue, but a smack upside the head from Blake prevented her from verbally sharing her thoughts.

Instead, the blonde let the atmosphere enter a relatively silent, but comfortable lull. All that could be heard was the sound of their cutlery _clinking!_ against the plates. Every once in a while, someone would casually strike up a conversation about a random topic.

Raven would start stressing about how they were going to deal with cleaning up the shop; and Summer would quickly reassure the dark-haired woman that they'd figure it out. Then, Coco casually mentioned that Velvet won a photography contest in her class, to which everybody congratulated her on promptly. Out of nowhere, Ruby started raving about the new instalment of one of the video games that she played religiously; and talked about how one of the main characters looked _'exactly like Weiss!'_ It would seem that Blake was somewhat familiar with the plot of the game because apparently it was based on a novel series that the Faunus girl had read.

However, at the mention of the white-haired girl's name, Yang frowned. "Where did the _Weiss-Princess_ go?"

Ruby quirked a brow at the nickname, and then answered the girl's question. "I'm not too sure..." the redhead shrugged, "she left the shop in a hurry, but she did say something about going back home?"

"Back home, _where_?" Blake suddenly chimed in. Yang detected that a trace of concern entered the Cat-Faunus' voice when she asked that question.

She then watched as Blake and Coco shared an uneasy expression.

"Uhh... to the 'Manor'...?" Ruby replied, with apprehension. "I assumed that she was just going back to your place, Blak-"

 _Ring! Ring! Ring!_

"Ah... speak of the devil..." Ruby muttered as she went to answer the call on her scroll.

"Heya, Weiss! We were just talking about you!" the hyperactive girl began. Ruby's chipper expression quickly transformed into one of worry as she listened to the girl on the other line. She started to look over everybody at the counter with furrowed brows, which in turn caused the rest of the women to mimic the expression.

"You need our help?"

* * *

Viktoria ignored the pain emanating from her right eye, and continued to stand her ground against the man before her.

Jacques simply stared back down at her with a nasty sneer. However, as she continued to silently defy the man, Viktoria could _see_ a sense of unease enter his eyes. She then realized that the man was _faltering_. He didn't expect her to actually stand against him. If the white-haired woman was being quite honest with herself... neither was she.

But she couldn't just let her daughter take the brunt of his violent outburst. Not again.

The entire room went dead silent. The only thing that Viktoria could hear was the sound of her own ragged breaths.

Suddenly, Jacques found his composure and hardened his expression.

"It would seem that we have ruined your stay, Salem." He then gave Viktoria a once-over and scoffed as he turned around. "Call over your Butler to clean you up, woman. You're a mess." and with that, the man walked away from the dining room.

Once the doors to the dining room slammed shut, the Schnee Matron could feel that her legs began to give out on her. Both Sienna and Weiss rushed to her side, and helped her lean against the table for support.

Before anyone could even comment on the recent string of events, Salem decided to speak up.

"Stay and tend to Viktoria's wounds, Sienna." The pale woman commanded with a small sigh. Salem then stood up from her chair and wordlessly left the scene without so much as glancing back at the three women.

Viktoria openly stared in her general direction in genuine confusion. She truly didn't know how to feel about the other woman's actions. The Schnee Matron was pretty sure that Sienna was supposed to be protecting Salem, seeing as the Faunus woman was her _bodyguard_.

"Do you have a first-aid kit in your home?"

The Bengal Tigress' voice snapped the white-haired woman out of her reverie. She was about to answer Sienna, but then realized that she didn't even _know_ where the first-aid kid would be.

It was Weiss who answered the Faunus woman.

"One of them is in the kitchen... it should be on the wall next to the eyewash station."

In the back of Viktoria's mind, she wondered how Weiss would even know that fact.

 _Right... she was in this same exact position not too long ago._

Sienna nodded, and swiftly made her way towards the other end of the dining room to the doors that lead to the kitchen area. When she was out of their line of vision, the Schnee Matron felt her daughter lightly tug at one of the sleeves of her robe. Viktoria turned her head to face the girl, and found that Weiss held her head down. She couldn't see her eyes... but the woman did take notice of the girl's shaking shoulders and the sniffling noises that she'd try to stifle.

The Schnee Matron's softened her gaze, and she used her left hand to tilt the girl's chin up so that she could see Weiss' face. Viktoria was met with a tear-streaked gaze. She saw that Weiss was wearing an expression of pain and frustration; which were two emotions that Viktoria was familiar with herself. The white-haired woman could also feel a sense of remorse lying beneath the young girl's eyes.

Viktoria made sure to wipe a couple of stray tears away before letting Weiss know the _one thing_ that she should absolutely understand.

"None of this is your fault."

Weiss choked out a sob, and then shook her head. "N-No-! If I hadn't provoked-!"

" _Weiss._ "

Viktoria uttered the girl's name with such a gentle, but firm tone that her daughter couldn't help but listen to what she had to say. The Schnee Matron continued to idly wipe her daughter's tears away. As she did so, the woman ended up tracing Weiss' own scar.

A flash of blurred memories of that day came rushing back into Viktoria's mind. While she stared down at her daughter, she could see that those memories replayed in the girl's mind as clear as day.

"I should have been there to protect you back then. Let me make it up to you now."

Suddenly, the Bengal Tigress' footsteps could be heard as she approached the two Schnee women. As she turned her head to face Sienna, she took notice of how the Faunus woman had already set the first-aid kit down and opened it on the table. The Bengal Tigress swiftly grabbed the Schnee woman's face and examined the wound carefully.

The Faunus woman sighed. "There doesn't seem to be any real damage to the eye itself. So your eyesight won't change... but this is definitely going to leave a scar."

Viktoria then watched as Sienna began to expertly clean and tend to the wound. She continued with her actions in silence. The white-haired woman was slightly surprised at how _neutral_ the Faunus woman was acting. She was thankful, of course. She didn't really feel like explaining the complicated dynamic of their familial structure.

So they all stayed like this for a period of time. Every once in a while the Schnee Matron would wince whenever Sienna would clean the cut with whatever solution that was in the first-aid kit.

Soon, the Bengal Tigress began applying an eyepatch on Viktoria's affected eye.

"Keep the patch on for at least two weeks, but don't forget to check it periodically for infection. If you do see signs of infection, then go to the Doctor's."

Viktoria simply nodded at Sienna's instructions.

The Schnee Matron then let out a deep sigh. "Do you have your scroll on you, Sienna?"

"Uhh.. yeah, I do. Why?" The Bengal Tigress answered as she handed her the said scroll.

Viktoria took the scroll and dialled the number of the one person she knew could help her with this entire situation. She abruptly turned to her daughter, who held a slightly confused expression towards her actions.

"Call your friends, Weiss."

Weiss quirked a brow at the Schnee woman. "Why...?"

"Because we're finally going to deal with your father, and we'll need all the help we can get."

Right after she made that declaration, Viktoria pressed the call button on Sienna's scroll. The Schnee Matron saw that Weiss did the same, and seemed to be giving the person on the other end of her call a brief summary of what had just happened.

Then, Viktoria herself waited patiently as the line began to ring. The ring tone went off about five times before the man on the other line finally answered the call.

"Qrow?" Viktoria began. "Do you still have those documents about what Jacques did to my father?"

She nodded as the man groggily answered her question.

"I'm ready to take that bastard down."

* * *

 **Welp... that was a chapter. xD**

 **Hope you guys are still enjoying the fic so far! Also, I put up a poll on my profile that outlines what kind of story I should work on next! If you're interested in seeing me write something new/different after this fic then go ahead and vote on it (lol if you want :D)**

 **Anywaysss thanks, as always, for reading!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	37. Chapter 37

**I watched the series Finale of Adventure Time and teared up a little.**

 **Anyways, here's a chap for you lovelies!**

* * *

Ruby continued to bounce her leg in unfiltered anxiousness as she sat on the Belladonna's couch.

When Ruby informed the rest of the women that Weiss needed help, Blake wasted no time in offering her home as their meeting place. So there they were... patiently waiting for the two Schnee women to arrive at the Belladonna's to tell them just what the _heck_ was going on.

After getting a rather alarming phone call from Weiss which vaguely insinuated that the white-haired girl was in an unfavourable situation, Ruby couldn't help but worry about what they were in for. She figured that it must have been something serious, especially if Weiss was actually calling on all of them for help.

Of course, the redhead was glad that Weiss was actually _relying_ on her and their friends when she was in need. However, that didn't take away from the fact that she felt uneasy at the thought of the former heiress being in trouble.

"Jeez, Rubes. You're going to give me whiplash if you keep shaking your leg like that."

"Then _move,_ woman!" Ruby retorted as she dramatically turned to her Ma sitting next to her on the couch. "I'm ready to start an 8.5 magnitude _earthquake_ with my bouncing leg!"

Raven simply stared back at the redhead with an incredulous, but mildly entertained expression. The dark-haired woman's face was scrunched up in utter confusion, with her mouth slightly ajar. It would seem that Raven decided not to continue on with the conversation, and just let the hyperactive girl be.

Ruby then watched as her Ma leaned against Summer, who was on the other side of the dark-haired woman, and muttered something about how weird Ruby could be when she's relatively upset. In response, Summer playfully smacked the Branwen woman on the shoulder and told her to 'hush!'

The agitated redhead simply leaned back into the couch with a semi-permanent pout. She probably seemed pretty upset because no one even bothered to openly tease her about her actions (which she knew were _really childish_ , but she didn't care at the moment). The longer she waited for the former heiress to show up, the more she played out increasingly _outrageous_ scenarios in her mind about the white-haired girl's situation.

One of which involved gang relations, Beowolves, and the threat of kidnapping and ransom.

Suddenly, the front door _creaking!_ open caused Ruby to whip her head towards the sound. She waited with bated breath as she heard three sets of footsteps approach the living room. First, it was Sienna who came into view, but once she saw a familiar head of white hair, Ruby all but pounced on them from the couch.

"Wha-ommf!"

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around the short girl's shoulders, and held her tight. "Is everything okay? Are you hurt?! Is there a gang of Beowolves threatening to kidnap you for ransom!? Why aren't you saying anything! Am I holding you too tight-?!"

"Ruby?"

Ruby's eyes flew wide open when she heard her name being called. By Weiss. Who the young girl _thought_ was currently in her arms.

The redhead then stopped her bombardment of questions when she realized that she was, in fact, _not_ dramatically embracing Weiss.

This was attributed to the fact that Weiss was _behind_ the said woman that Ruby was physically holding at the moment. The former heiress herself simply stared on at the scene with exasperated mirth. The white-haired girl had a brow quirked at the younger girl, and the smallest trace of a smile that threatened to make its way onto her lips. Ruby, on the other hand, probably held an expression of horror as she realized _who_ she basically glomped!

 _Thank GOD I didn't blindly kiss her!_

She immediately jumped back from the woman in her arms, and began to apologize for literally everything that she could think of - even for things that were completely irrelevant to the situation.

"Ahhh! Ohmygosh! Ms. Schnee I'm so sorry for invading your personal space like this! I just thought you were Weiss because the both of you have really nice white hair and you're basically the same height, with the same petite build and- _wow_ you guys look so much alike now that I think about it..." She paused as she got lost in that thought, but then abruptly continued on with her stress-induced word vomit. "And, AND-!"

Ruby melodramatically gasped when she saw the eyepatch on Viktoria's right eye.

"Ms. _Schnee_ , what happened to your- _ACK!_ "

Before she could even finish her question, Weiss had grabbed the redhead by her collar and pulled her backwards. She then found herself being roughly pushed down onto one of the recliner chairs in the living room.

She let out a ' _youch!_ ' when the former heiress flicked her forehead, rather hard; but shortly afterwords displayed a confused grin when Weiss immediately pressed her lips on the part of Ruby's forehead that had been flicked.

When Weiss pulled away, she simply huffed. "Let my mother speak, you dolt."

"Heh... sorry."

When they both turned their heads to face the Schnee woman, the girls were met with a slightly surprised but kind expression. Then, Viktoria silently made her way towards Ruby's previous spot on the couch, while Weiss herself decided to sit on the recliner's armrest beside the redhead.

Ruby's gaze briefly flitted towards the third person who arrived with the Schnee women.

Sienna comfortably perched herself atop one of Blake's countertops by the kitchen area, next to the bumblebee pair who were sitting on the stools by the said counter. The Bengal Tigress held an unreadable expression that almost made her look like she was _bored_ , but continued to watch as Viktoria seemed to be thinking about _how_ she was going to explain what was going on .

Everyone then watched the white-haired woman with anticipation as she opened her mouth to speak.

"A lot has happened within the past few hours which made me realize that things need to change." Viktoria slowly began. Ruby took notice of how _worn out_ the woman sounded, and studied her carefully as she spoke. The Schnee Matron looked off into the distance with an expression that the redhead couldn't quite figure out. If she took a guess, it seemed like Viktoria held a gaze full of regret.

There was also a sense of ferocity and _anger_ lying dormant within her expression. But it wasn't the type of anger that was spiteful.

It was the type of anger driven by determination.

"And these changes are long past overdue..." the Schnee Matron continued on as she held everybody's attention. "I have let Jacques control my life, and the lives of the people whom I hold dear for far too long." Viktoria stared at her daughter with an apologetic gaze. "And now, he's threatening my daughter's happiness, and all of your livelihoods. I've decided that I care for you all too deeply to let him do whatever he wants. His tyranny needs to stop."

The Schnee Matron then slowly stared at everybody in the room, and communicated with her gaze just how _determined_ she truly was about her words.

"So please, bear with me, and lend me your strength."

Suddenly, Summer stood up and walked over to Viktoria's side of the couch. Ruby and the others watched as her Mom crouched in front of the woman, and gently placed a hand atop Viktoria's own.

"We've always been ready to help you, Vi." Summer stated as she smiled at the Schnee. "We're going to get you through this."

"I second that notion." Raven chimed in, with a wicked smirk. However, the dark-haired woman's facial expression soon took a more serious turn. "But... you still got some explaining to do, Vi. What do you mean that Jacques is threatening our livelihoods..." she then grabbed the woman's chin and tilted it to the side to get a good look at her injury. "and what happened to your eye."

Viktoria moved her head away from Raven's hand, and exhaled slowly. Ruby observed as the Schnee woman directed her gaze towards the younger Schnee in the room. Weiss simply nodded.

"Let me explain." Weiss began. Everyone directed their attention towards the white-haired girl, and patiently waited as she collected her thoughts. Soon, the girl let out a deep breath, and started to answer Raven's questions.

"In order to control me, Jacques presented me with an ultimatum; which was to choose between Ruby or publicly announcing an engagement to Salem's daughter. He threatened the safety of your family if I didn't choose Cinder."

 _"What."_

"What?!"

Both of the Rose-Xiao Long sisters interrupted. However, one of the girls had expressed genuine shock, whereas the other sister expressed rage.

It was Ruby who felt unadulterated animosity while she listened to the white-haired girl's words.

"Rubes..." Raven interjected, with a warning edge in her voice, "let Weiss finish her explanation." Ruby begrudgingly complied, and decided to take out her anger on one of the chair's armrests. She gripped onto the damn thing so tightly that her knuckles began to go white. She didn't really care if she was damaging the chair at the moment. She was too pissed.

She was pissed at Jacques, for putting Weiss through this ordeal.

And she was also pissed at herself, for not noticing that Weiss was even _going through_ an ordeal!

Suddenly, she felt Weiss' hand gently cover her own; which resulted in some of her anger dissipating. The former heiress rubbed small circles on the back of her hand as she continued on with her explanation of what was going on.

"Of course, I chose Ruby, regardless of what Jacques would throw my way." Weiss declared softly. "But when it became apparent that I wasn't deterred by Jacques' threat, he made the decision to hire a number of Salem's henchmen to destroy your weapons shop. It was supposed to serve as some kind of 'warning' to show me what he was capable of doing."

The white-haired girl began to scowl. "Instead, I let my anger overtake me and ended up confronting him about it back at the Schnee Manor. Things began to escalate, and he raised his hand against me..." Weiss trailed off, but then directed her gaze at Viktoria. "That was when my mother jumped in. Literally. She went between us and took the brunt of Jacques' violent outburst."

"She protected me."

After Weiss was done with explaining what had happened, everyone simply sat there in shocked silence, trying to digest the story.

It was Blake who broke the silence.

"So you're saying that _Jacques_ was the one who hurt your mother..."

Weiss nodded. "Yes."

"Oh no..." the Cat-Faunus muttered under her breath. "When mom finds out-"

 _BAM!_

The sound of the front door slamming open startled everybody in the Belladonna's living room. Soon, Ruby could hear hurried footsteps, along with a mildly panicked voice.

"I-I came as soon as I could. What's all this about Weiss and Viktoria needing help-!?" Kali stopped mid-sentence when she saw Viktoria's eye.

" _What happened_."

All was silent yet again in the living room... and again it was the younger Cat-Faunus who broke that silence.

"She's going to freak out."

* * *

"She's going to freak out."

 _Well that's an understatement,_ Summer thought to herself as she watched the elder Belladonna with bated breath. When the redhead briefly flitted her gaze to the rest of the women in the room, they also seemed to brace themselves for the storm that was to come. But once Summer laid her eyes on Viktoria, she took notice of how the Schnee looked off to the side to try and hide her affected eye.

Kali simply repeated herself calmly. However, everyone knew that there was _nothing_ calm about the Belladonna Matron's demeanour. Anyone could see that the woman was about ready to explode.

"What _happened?_ "

Summer sighed, and took it upon herself to answer the Cat-Faunus woman. "Viktoria got hurt trying to protect Weiss from Jacques and- _where are you going_?!"

The redhead couldn't even finish her sentence before Kali began storming out of the living room. Raven abruptly stood up to stop the woman, but was beat to it by one Sienna Khan. Summer then watched as the Bengal Tigress grabbed the back of Kali's shirt and whipped her backwards. The Cat-Faunus automatically lifted her arm to elbow the other Faunus woman in the face, but Sienna swiftly dodged the attack.

"Let me _go!_ "

Sienna scoffed, "And where the _hell_ do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to-!"

"Going to _what_?" the Bengal Tigress interrupted, clearly not having it. "Punch _Jacques freaking Schnee_ in the face? How well do you think that's going to go?"

"I'll let you know after I've done it!"

Suddenly, _Ruby_ shot up from her seat and matched Kali with her anger. "Let's go punch _Jacques freaking Schnee_ together, Miss Belladonna!"

"You will do no such thing, Ruby Rose!" Summer interjected, with authority.

"But _MOM!_ "

"Sit. Down!"

Ruby's gusto immediately dissipated when Summer went into 'serious mom mode.' The young girl just sat back down and grumbled incoherently under her breath. However, once Weiss started to offer Ruby some comforting words, her daughter's mood seemed to have lightened a little bit.

Shortly after, Summer's attention returned back to the Faunus sisters, but the bubbling tension between them was still present. She looked over to her wife to see how she was dealing with the situation, but she seemed just as lost as Summer herself. She had a feeling that if either of them jumped in to physically hold Kali back, the Faunus woman would snap.

"Why are you even here, Sienna?"

The Bengal Tigress exhaled sharply, "I was the one who treated Viktoria's wound."

"You were _there?!_ " Kali growled, "Why didn't you _do_ anything!"

"Did I not just say that I tended to Viktoria's wound?"

"That's _not_ what I meant-!"

"I wasn't there to protect _Viktoria_." Sienna stated matter-of-factly. "I happened to be there because I'm Salem's bodyguard. And I wasn't about to go and raise my hand against _Jacques Schnee_." There was a venomous edge laced within the Faunus' voice when she uttered the man's name.

Sienna laughed scornfully. "Do you really think I'm going to risk my own damn livelihood by letting people speculate about how I, _Sienna Khan -_ the former _high leader_ of the _White Fang_ , had the audacity to get 'physically _violent_ ' with the head of the Schnee household? The very household that paints our kind as _violent creatures_?"

Kali set her jaw, and silently stared back at her older sister. Even the two Schnee women couldn't say anything against the Bengal Tigress' words.

"No."

"Exactly." Sienna stated, shoving the Cat-Faunus back into the living room. "Now sit down and listen to what Viktoria has to say. If you actually stood still for a second and let her _talk,_ then you would know that she has a plan to deal with Jacques."

Everyone whipped their head towards Viktoria after Sienna revealed that fact.

"You're actually going to go _against_ Jacques?" The Belladonna Matron asked incredulously.

Hell, even Summer and Raven were staring on at the Schnee woman in mild disbelief.

Viktoria held their gazes with a sense of renewed determination.

"Yeah. I am."

* * *

"No _way_!"

Weiss swatted at her girlfriend who interrupted the white-haired girl's older sister as she explained what Jacques had done to their grandfather. Not too long after the dispute between the Belladonna-Khan sisters, Winter had made an appearance too. When she showed up, their mother had questioned her sister where a man named Qrow was. Apparently, he couldn't be bothered to actually leave his bed so he passed on task of explaining everything to Winter.

She wasted no time in informing them of the entire situation. She made sure to include the lies and the elaborate schemes that Jacques had done to obtain the Schnee heritage.

Weiss had to admit that she was also shocked about the revelation herself when Viktoria told her. So she didn't blame Ruby for reacting in such a way.

But what was more daunting than Jacques' schemes was the very scheme that _they_ were about to pull on the man himself.

"I don't get it." Sienna interjected, "Why don't you just let Jacques know that you know what he did to Nicholas, and go to the cops right now?"

"If it were that simple, we wouldn't be having this meeting." Winter, rather rudely, retorted. Weiss quirked a brow at her sister for answering the Faunus woman in such a way, but decided to stay quiet. The elder Schnee daughter caught herself immediately, and simply huffed. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude... its just, when it comes to taking down high profile people like Jacques, we have to be extremely careful with the information that we have against him."

Sienna nodded, and gestured for the girl to go on.

"Jacques has some serious connections within the Justice System here in Vale." Winter continued, "If we confront him first, then that gives him the time to retrieve the right kind of back up from the people who stand behind him in the Justice System. However, if we blindly expose him to the _wrong person_ within the System then-"

"Then that person would probably inform Jacques of our plan, and help him cover it up..." Sienna finished.

"Precisely."

"But the way you guys want to expose him is pretty crazy." Raven chimed in, with a voice that bordered between bewilderment and entertainment. "I mean, you basically want to throw him under the bus at one of his own _parties,_ and a lot of his business associates are going to be there. How are you sure that they're not just gonna band together?"

"Jacques has many business associates that he even meets with socially," Viktoria joined in. "In reality they truly _loathe_ the man, but he's way too powerful for anyone to openly display how they feel about him. If anything, we're giving them a concrete reason to express their hatred for him."

Ruby then hummed in understanding. "Ohhhh! And if the elitists have an openly negative opinion on him, then the System might be pressed to actually find him guilty for what he did! The general public already hates him too... so that's going to help a tonne!"

"That's what we are hoping for, yes." Weiss added on. "We need to create enough of an upset so that his scandal won't be ignored or covered up."

The room fell silent once more, as everyone seemed to slowly process what was happening.

The white-haired girl then turned her head towards Coco, who let out a low whistle after they explained what was going down. "You Schnee's have quite the affinity for dramatics..." the fashionista playfully commented.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the brunette. But then Coco's demeanour took a more serious turn. "But a lot of big name business associates are going to be at the event that Jacques is hosting. Despite the fact that they hate him, The SDC might end up losing some major connections, especially if they don't like the stunt that you're going to pull on him. I'm not saying that you shouldn't go through with this plan, but there's a lot of risk."

"It's a risk we're willing to take." Weiss responded without hesitation. She looked over to the other Schnee's in the vicinity, and they nodded in affirmation. The small gestures were enough to completely solidify the white-haired girl's resolve.

The former heiress then directed her gaze towards each person in the room, and communicated through her eyes that she was nothing but serious about their plan. Everyone else silently reciprocated Weiss' resolve, with a mixture of apprehension, excitement, and raging determination.

Something seemed to well up inside her when she saw the undeterred fury in Viktoria's gaze.

"Then mark this on your calendars, everyone." Weiss continued on. "In exactly seven days..."

The white-haired girl let out an uncharacteristic, _wicked_ smirk.

"We're taking Jacques down!"

* * *

 ***It's the final countdown plays as they plan to give Jacques some well-deserved comeuppance xD****

 **Welp, that was another chapter :P I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

 **And please, don't hesitate to give me some feedback about the fic! My ears are always open to the opinions of you readers :) If you don't want to leave feedback and just casually comment then that's fine too! I actually love reading how the story makes y'all feel after you read a new chapter :P Motivates me to play with your emotions even more~**

 **LOL, and I hope everybody is having a good week back to school!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	38. Chapter 38

**Lmaoooo please enjoy this chapter, mi amigos.**

* * *

Velvet could barely conceal her excitement as T.A Nebula yammered on about the details of the Remnant Arts Networking Event. Only a select group of students were invited to it, and to the Rabbit-Faunus' pleasant surprise, it would seem that both Dew and May made the cut too! They were currently in one of the lecture rooms with a handful of other students, and were listening to their T.A go on about what was to come.

She was glad that she wasn't going to this thing alone. Of course, she also had Coco by her side, which was something that she was grateful for too.

"The theme of the event is a simple black-and-white tie theme... you may bring your portfolios...and camera's... don't forget that the event starts at..."

The Faunus girl could tell that she was bobbing in and out of attention while Nebula spoke. She was also preoccupied with the events that occurred the day prior, which in itself gave the Rabbit-Faunus a different rush of excitement. The plan that Weiss and her family made up was so elaborate that it made Velvet feel like they were in one of those heist movies!

She just hoped that the date they were going to expose Jacques didn't clash with the date of this Networking Even-

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Velvet interrupted as she was sure that she missed a very important part of Nebula's summary.

Nebula quirked a brow, but nevertheless repeated herself. "I was saying that the Networking Event will be taking place _tomorrow_ at-!"

" _Tomorrow!?_ " May exclaimed incredulously as she flailed her arms up in the air.

Apparently, Velvet wasn't the only one who missed that part of their T.A's rundown of the social event. Even Dew, who usually wore a calm and collected mask, seemed to be bewildered, if not slightly _miffed_ , at this new piece of information. The Rabbit-Faunus didn't blame her, though... this was ridiculously short notice.

"That's barely enough time to find something _remotely nice_ to wear, Nebula." Dew deadpanned. May followed up the dirty-blonde's statement with an angry 'Yeah!'

Nebula simply rolled her eyes, "I'll help you pick out a dress later on tonight, Dew. You're going to look great, regardless of what you wear."

"Ohohoho~" May interjected as she stared between the two women, "Is our _T.A_ your plus one, Ms. Dewy?"

Dew immediately smacked the beanie-clad girl upside the head. Velvet, on the other hand, giggled and decided to join in on the fun. "Oooh how scandalous~" The Rabbit-Faunus playfully commented.

"Oh _you're_ the one to talk about _scandal_ , Velv." Dew retorted, squinting her eyes at the Faunus girl. "Or should I say, Miss. 'Dating-the-daughter-of-the-Remnant-Art's-Headmaster' Velvet Scarlatina."

Velvet's jaw dropped in response to her friend's words, and May let out a boisterous laugh. The Rabbit-Faunus even noticed that their T.A was struggling to stifle her laughter too. When the Rabbit-Faunus came to, she could only let out a string of incoherent words in an attempt to refute the other girl's statement. Although... there really wasn't anything to refute...

She truly was dating the Headmaster's daughter.

But she knew that had nothing to do with the fact that she was chosen to go this prestigious event. The Rabbit-Faunus was confident in her own abilities as an aspiring photographer.

Dew chuckled and then ruffled the top of Velvet's head. "Relax, Velv. I'm just playing with you."

Velvet stuck her tongue out at the girl.

Soon, their T.A coughed to grab their attention once more, and just continued on with her little spiel about the Networking Event.

"So... remember that it starts at around 8:00 o'clock tomorrow evening in the Remnant Arts ballroom." Nebula began, "You are all representing our Academy, so please conduct yourselves professionally. But don't forget to have fun. This is a very rare, and excellent opportunity for you guys to show the teachers of Remnant Arts what you're made of! And I know just how talented you all are!"

The purple-haired woman then let out a wicked smirk. "So lets make this a great night!"

Everyone immediately let out shouts of affirmation when Nebula finished her little pep-talk. Even Velvet got caught up in the excitement of it all, and let out an enthusiastic ' _whoop!_ ' herself.

After a couple of moments, the buzz of the atmosphere died down and everyone went their separate ways. Velvet properly bid her photo-buddies goodbye, and wandered about; trying to figure out what to do for her free period. Normally, she would have classes on Art Theory, but since she was one of the students chosen to go to the Remnant Arts Event, she was given the rest of the day to prepare for it.

"I'd ask Coco for help... but she has business lectures right now." the Rabbit-Faunus mumbled under her breath, to nobody in particular. She then shrugged.

 _I should send her a message to meet me at my place after her lectures are done._

She carried out the action just as soon as that thought came to mind.

The Faunus girl continued to make her way throughout Beacon's halls, and pondered going back home to take a nap. At least until Coco was finished with the school day. She might as well... it wasn't like she actually had anything else better to do.

"Hey, you!"

* * *

Velvet stopped dead in her tracks, and whipped her head around to see who was addressing her so aggressively.

When she saw that no one was near her general vicinity, she figured that this person was calling out to someone from around the corner. Velvet was about to turn around and mind her own business, but then another voice came along and stopped her yet again.

"What is it, Adam."

The Rabbit-Faunus tilted her head to the side in confusion.

 _Ilia...? What the hell is she doing with a guy like Adam?_

Even though Velvet wasn't a part of the Athletics sector of Beacon, she at least knew about the nasty track record that Adam Taurus had within their student body. He was notorious for being a White Fang fanatic, and getting into a lot of fights in the name of the organization. Hell, she wouldn't be surprised if he was an _active member_ of the extremist group.

She was also positive that he truly was the one who attacked Yang; she knew that the blonde wouldn't lie about something like that.

Soon, Velvet found herself listening in on their conversation. She leaned her back against the wall, and strained her ears so she could hear them.

"Don't act dumb." Adam borderline _snarled_. "The investigation starts today, and I need to count on _you_ to not blow it all up."

"And what on Remnant would make you think that I'd snitch?" The Chameleon-Faunus spat back, "I was _actively_ a part of her assault! Which wasn't even supposed to be an actual assault in the first place!" She then let out a frustrated noise. "But you just had to go and get all violent with her! The _fuck_ , Taurus!?"

"Oh and your plan of _verbally threatening_ her was going to be super effective..."

"Even if it didn't work out that way, then I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have gone to _Ozpin_ and start an investigation!" Ilia growled. "Shit, Adam! The cops might get involved, and I literally cannot afford to get arrested or kicked out of this school!" The Rabbit-Faunus listened on as the girl paused. "They'll ship me back to Menagerie if that happens, and I'll have nowhere to go! I-I'm too old for any of the foster homes or orphanages to take me back in..."

Velvet felt a twinge of pity for the Chameleon-Faunus when she said that last part. It wasn't an unknown fact that orphaned Faunus children around the world were basically shipped off to random orphanages in Menagerie. As if the population overcrowding in the Faunus-ridden country wasn't enough, the other nations made it worse by participating in such a protocol.

Especially after the _Terrorization of the Mistral Faunus Rights Movement_... there was a huge surge of Faunus children sent there. The Rabbit-Faunus would've shared that same fate too, if it weren't for the Rose-Branwen's.

"Oh boo-fucking- _hoo_." Adam mocked, completely belittling the other Faunus' situation. Velvet resisted the urge to stomp around the corner and punch the guy. She knew she could hold her own in a fight (being practically raised by Raven and all...) but she wasn't stupid enough to go against a guy like Adam.

"And don't act as if you're _all innocent,_ " the Bull-Faunus continued, "I know that you were part of the group of Faunus that totally trashed Yang's shop."

"T-That was _her shop_!?" Ilia immediately exclaimed, "and how the hell do you know about all of that!?"

"I've got friends _everywhere_ , Ilia. But to think that you'd be associated with _Salem's_ Faction..." he then scoffed, "If you wanted to join an organization, you might as well have joined the White Fang."

"Oh, like _you_?"

Adam said nothing to counter Ilia's accusation. If anything, the Rabbit-Faunus swore she heard the boy chuckle.

"And 'Salem's Faction' isn't actually a Mafia like most people think. It's a _bodyguard_ service." Velvet heard the Reptile-Faunus sigh. "At least I _thought_ it was. Maybe I was wrong... but I quit my internship there _right after_ they told us to trash that place!"

"That won't matter once they find out that you were _involved_ with the whole thing."

"W-What are you trying to _say_ , Adam."

 _BAM!_

Velvet had to fight the urge to audibly gasp from the sudden sound. She contemplated running over to the Chameleon-Faunus' side to help, but then Ilia began to speak again.

"Was that supposed to scare me?"

"Just a little..." Adam replied with a sharp edge. "Anyways, what I'm trying to _say_ is..."

Velvet waited in anticipation for the Faunus boy to continue on.

"If you, for whatever reason, decide to sell me out... then I'm dragging you right down to hell with me. I'll tell the investigators all about how it was _your_ idea to scare off Yang with our little 'threat', and I'll tell them that _you_ were one of the thugs that destroyed her family's shop." The Faunus boy then laughed mockingly, "So if I were you, I would think twice before doing anything _stupid_."

Soon... Velvet could hear him walking away from the Chameleon-Faunus.

Her eyes then widened in panic when she realized one thing...

Which was the fact that the Faunus boy's footsteps were getting _louder_.

 _S-Shit! He's walking towards my end of the hallway!_

The Rabbit-Faunus' mind went into overdrive as she tried to find a place to hide. She could see a utility closet in plain view across from her, but she knew if she tried to run into it, she'd risk being seen by the Bull-Faunus. There was also the fact that Velvet didn't even know if the closet was locked or not.

She then directed her gaze towards the lockers next to her.

 _Oh you have GOT to be kidding me..._

Before she knew it, Velvet had already opened one of the locker doors and jammed herself into the tiny spice. She made sure to leave the door slightly ajar so she wouldn't somehow lock herself in.

She held her breath when Adam briefly came into view. Velvet watched as the unsuspecting Faunus boy continued to walk past the locker she was currently inside of. The Rabbit-Faunus could hear her heartbeat beat loudly in her ears, and prayed to whatever Gods there were that Adam couldn't hear it.

Apparently, her silent prayers worked, seeing as the boy continued leisurely on his path. Gradually, his footsteps became fainter by the second, and then disappeared altogether. The Rabbit-Faunus was about to let out a sigh of relief, but then she was reminded of the second person that was still near her general vicinity.

" _Fuck!_ "

Velvet flinched at the sudden utterance of that profanity. She listened on as the other Faunus girl _stomped_ her way down the hall. Unfortunately for Velvet, Ilia had decided to go in Adam's direction, and went down to her side of the hallway. The Rabbit-Faunus sent out another silent prayer this time around, too. There was _no way_ that Ilia could figure out that she was in the locker, so Velvet wasn't too worried at this point-

 _DING!_

" _Shit!_ "

Everything went dead silent.

Velvet cursed herself for even letting out a sound.

 _Maybe she didn't hear me-!_

"You can come out now."

* * *

"You may come in now, Yang."

Yang took in a deep breath before opening the door to Ozpin's office. The blonde could feel her nerves getting to her, and she mentally kicked herself for being so antsy. She didn't know why she was so damn _nervous._ Maybe it was because she didn't really fair well with authority; and seeing that Ozpin was the damn _Headmaster_ of Beacon, the blonde couldn't help but be on edge.

Well... there was that and the fact that she was going to have to seriously recall the events of her assault.

It wasn't that Yang _didn't_ want to think about it... but, whenever she _did_ , her head would get all hazy and muddled. She figured that the blunt trauma to her head caused her to have some amnesia with regards to what happened. However, that wasn't going to stop her from trying to remember the event.

She really wanted to see Adam knocked down a peg... or several.

"Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable." Headmaster Ozpin said as Yang came into view. Yang simply did as she was told, and sat down on the seat across from the man's desk. She shifted in that very seat as she waited for the man to continue, and watched in impatience as he took the _longest sip of life_ from his damn coffee mug.

"As you already know, this meeting sole purpose is to get a detailed report of _your_ side of the story."

"R-Right..."

"I will be conducting this same meeting with Adam tomorrow..." Ozpin continued, "However, I will also place him under investigation and question _everyone_ who was reported to be on Campus at the time of the event. This the type of behaviour that I will _not_ tolerate and if anyone is proven guilty, they will be immediately expelled. Do you understand the severity of the situation?"

Yang stared the Headmaster right in the eye. "Yes, sir. I understand."

"Even so, do you wish to continue?"

"Yes."

Ozpin nodded. "Then please, try to relax and recall the event from start to finish. It is important that you leave _no_ details out."

"Alright..." Yang responded. "Er... should I start from the morning? Or...?"

"Just include the details of the event itself. I doubt your morning routine had anything to do with the assault, unless the accused assailant, being Adam Taurus, was a part of it and displayed some unusual behaviour."

The blonde nodded. "O-Okay..."

Yang then shut her eyes so she could concentrate. She took in another deep breath, and slowly let it out. Soon... she could vaguely visualize the girls locker room, and she began to recall the event.

"S-So, after school, I went to kickboxing practice like usual." Yang began. "Before practice, I couldn't find my hand wraps in my bag, so I went into the locker room to see if they were in my assigned gym locker." the blonde paused, and tried to think about how she _felt_ while she was in the locker room. "But as I was trying to open up my locker, something felt... _off._ I think I could sense that I wasn't alone."

Suddenly, Yang flinched when she recalled the deafening sound of Adam's fist hitting the locker.

"On instinct, I ducked my head down before I was hit." Yang continued on. "when I turned around I saw Adam, and I know for a fact that I wasn't imagining it. I could clearly see his face."

Ozpin silently nodded, and gestured for her to continue.

"I jumped back from him, and took a defensive stance." Yang then furrowed her brows, as this was the part of her story that would get all blurred together. "I remember him wrapping his hands around my throat. But after that, my memories get all hazy..."

"That's fine, Ms. Xiao-Long. Just take your time with this next part. There's no need to rush it."

Yang simply shut her eyes tight, and tried her best to recall the rest of what happened.

"At that point, I really thought that I could've died..." The blonde went on. "And I don't believe that I'm being dramatic. Adam had a crazy tight grip around my neck; it was like he _had_ the intent to seriously hurt me."

Soon... all Yang could visualize was a myriad of blurred out images. Sometimes her memory would black out, and then it would come back into a barely focused image of the locker room. She could kind of hear what was going on around her, but at that point, Yang wasn't sure if what she heard was real or not. The lack of O2 intake from practically getting strangled caused her to be extremely disoriented.

"Then... I could hear him talking." She paused yet again; but then her eyes flew open when she realized one thing.

 _Adam wasn't alone._

"Is everything alright, Ms. Xiao-Long?"

Yang simply shook her head. "No- I mean, yeah. I just remembered something important..." She then held Ozpin's gaze. "Adam wasn't alone."

The man across from her stared back intently, and waited for her to go on.

"They started arguing with each other for a bit. The other person in the locker room... I think they stopped him from going any further, but I know for a fact that they were in on it too. I-I can't put a name to their voice... all I can remember about them was that they were definitely a girl." She exhaled sharply. "After that, everything went black and I felt a sharp pain at my left forearm. When I came to, I was in the hospital..."

"I-I don't know if this'll help much... but-!"

The Headmaster raised a hand to politely silence the girl. "Trust me, Ms. Xiao-Long... everything that you've just disclosed to me is more useful than you think."

"Right... So is it okay if I go...now..?" the blonde trailed off. She really wanted to go home, and didn't know if she was being rude or not by asking. It's just... thinking about the whole ordeal drained out a lot of the blonde's energy. She honestly wanted nothing more than to take a nap at the moment.

Ozpin chuckled. "Ah, Yes. You may go now, Ms. Xiao-Long. If you have anything to add to your report, then don't hesitate to come back to give me an update."

Yang wordlessly nodded at the man, and gave him a sound of confirmation along with a small 'thank you.'

As she walked out of the Headmaster's office, Yang thought about the things to come for the next couple of days.

On top of this whole investigation with Adam, there was also the scheme that they were going to pull over Jacques. To say the least, the next week or so was going to be... _eventful_.

Yang just hoped that no one was going to get hurt.

* * *

Velvet wondered what the best course of action she should take to avoid getting hurt.

Namely, by one Ilia Amitola.

 _I mean... I could jump out of this locker and start throwing punches..._

But the Rabbit-Faunus didn't feel like physically fighting anyone at the moment. So instead...

She texted Coco back, telling her that she'd see her later at her apartment.

"So... are you going to actually step out of the locker, or...?"

The Rabbit-Faunus decided to just rip the bandaid off, and moved the locker door wide open. Right across the hallway stood Ilia, waiting patiently for her to fully walk out of the said locker. Once she did so, there was a trace of surprise laced within the Chameleon-Faunus' expression. Ilia's brows were raised for a split second, and she looked genuinely confused.

She probably didn't expect _Velvet_ , of all people, to walk out.

"Uh... Hey." Velvet nonchalantly began.

Ilia seemed to be mildly amused at how the Rabbit-Faunus tried to play this off, so she humoured the girl. "Hi."

And then... Silence.

 _Oh my God, what should I do?! Do I run?!_

Suddenly, Ilia began to slowly walk towards the Rabbit-Faunus and stopped directly in front of her. Velvet noted that the other Faunus girl was _definitely_ sizing her up. However, before she could hold up any kind of defensive stance, Ilia started to question her.

"So I'm assuming that you heard our conversation."

Rather than back down from Ilia's sudden scrutinization, Velvet stood her ground. She stared back at the girl, making sure to control her expression, and offered her the best poker face she could muster up.

"Yup."

Ilia snorted. "Didn't think you would admit to that so quickly. I'm surprised."

"You and me both..." Velvet quipped, "for obviously different reasons, of course."

Soon, the overall atmosphere between the two girls ran cold. As much as Velvet would've liked the conversation to remain casual, she knew better than to expect as much. If anything, the brown-haired girl could feel the reality of the situation take over; which resulted in Velvet feeling rather sour about the whole ordeal.

The Faunus girl in front of her was part of the reason why the two mother-figures in her life were suffering at the moment.

She could feel her anger slowly bubble within her chest.

Ilia also messed with Yang.

And Yang was Family.

"So what are you going to do?"

Ilia quirked a brow at the Rabbit-Faunus. "Shouldn't I be asking _you_ that question?"

"Maybe." Velvet responded cryptically, "But... just by judging from your conversation with Adam, it seems like you're conflicted."

She then watched as the Chameleon-Faunus narrowed her eyes at her. "You don't _know me_. What makes you think I'm conflicted about this whole situation?"

"Someone who didn't show remorse for what they did wouldn't be stressing over the fact that the victim was _hurt._ " Velvet explained. "Also... I may not know you that well, but I _understand_ you."

The Reptile Faunus scoffed. "And what do you understand about me, Velvet? I doubt that we have much in common."

"You'd be surprised, Ilia..." The brown-haired girl promptly answered. "But one of the few things we have in common are our relationships with Blake."

Velvet then shut the locker door behind her, and opted to lean on it casually while crossing her arms. She continued to give the Chameleon-Faunus a deadpan, blank look.

"What were you expecting if your plan of intimidating Yang worked out?"

"W-What-?"

"Did you really think that Blake was just going to run into your arms? Just like that?" Velvet went on. "Even now, after you and Adam basically assaulted Yang, Blake is still standing firmly beside her." She then exhaled sharply. "Did you think that just because you're a _Faunus,_ you would appeal to Blake more? Do you _really believe_ that Blake, of _all Faunus_ , is such a person?!"

The Rabbit-Faunus felt a twinge of guilt for acting so vindictive, but she really wanted the Chameleon-Faunus to see the flaws of her plan. Velvet could feel that deep down, Ilia knew that she was in the wrong. And she could also tell that the Reptile-Faunus wasn't, fundamentally, a bad person.

She was just one of _many_ Faunus children that had been shaped by, and involved with, the cruel actions of prejudiced humans.

Velvet knew, from personal experience, that the world could offer people like them a kinder fate.

And she wanted Ilia to understand that.

The Chameleon-Faunus stayed silent after Velvet bombarded her with those questions. Ilia looked off to the side, and held an expression of remorse. The Rabbit-Faunus knew, at this point, that she was getting somewhere with the girl in front of her. She was going to continue with speaking frankly towards the Reptile-Faunus, but then Ilia finally opened her mouth to speak.

"S-She wasn't supposed to get _hurt_."

"Well she did." Velvet quickly pointed out. She took notice of how Ilia winced slightly from her, rather sharp, response. The Rabbit-Faunus sighed, and placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "Listen, Ilia. You have the chance to do the _right thing_ here."

She then held the Chameleon-Faunus' gaze when she decided to look up at her. "What Adam did was _dangerous_. He really could've done some actual damage to Yang; and Ilia, if you cover for him... if you let him get away with this it's just going to get worse. I know that I'm asking you to sacrifice _a lot_ , but if you continue to let a guy like that influence you with his way of thinking, you're just going to end up bitter in the end."

As Velvet was speaking, she could see that Ilia was at least _listening_ to what she had to say. The other girl seemed like she was stunned into silence.

Velvet hoped that she was getting through to her.

"And honestly... Blake already chose to be with Yang."

The Rabbit-Faunus heard Ilia audibly gulp when she declared that fact.

"Anyone with eyes can see that Yang is good with her. Good _for her_." Velvet stated. She then decided to shift the focus back onto the Chameleon-Faunus. "Ilia, I can also see that you're type of person who doesn't stand by when there's injustice."

When she could sense that Ilia wasn't going to respond, Velvet had giving the girl's shoulder one last squeeze.

"I just hope that you can see that, too..."

With that, Velvet walked away to let Ilia think about what she had done.

And what she had to do to make it right.

* * *

 **LOL did you guys really think that I'd feed y'all the main course meal that was Jacques' downfall that fast!?**

 **Naaaw, have some appetizer fillers first xD**

 **Ahahaha please continue to let me know what you guys think!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter**


	39. Chapter 39

**WATCH OUT FOR THE FLUFF!**

* * *

"Whoa... you said all of that to Ilia?"

Velvet simply nodded back at the fashionista, and patiently waited for her to finish painting her nails. As Coco completed the task, she couldn't help but stare at the Rabbit-Faunus in awe; especially after hearing what the other girl had to go through within the past two hours or so.

During Coco's business lectures, Velvet sent the brown-haired fashionista a message to meet her back at her apartment. When she replied not too long after getting the message, she received another text that ambiguously described the Rabbit-Faunus' impending doom.

Specifically, Velvet texted:

'If I get out of this alive... then I'll see you back at my apartment, babe!'

Coco promptly replied by asking her what she meant by that last part, but didn't receive any explanations to clear the air about the rather ominous message. So once she met up with the Faunus girl at the _Red Reaper's_ , the fashionista demanded an explanation for the weird text.

Which was what led to them lounging on Velvet's couch as they discussed the situation between Ilia and Yang.

"Yeah. I didn't want to mince my words..." the Rabbit-Faunus trailed off as she smiled awkwardly, "and I also wanted to divert from the fact that I was _just_ inside of a locker. God, that was embarrassing..."

The fashionista briefly gazed at the girl and giggled, "well, judging from what you told me, it seemed like it worked out." she then held a thoughtful expression, "do you think that you got through to Ilia?"

Velvet shrugged. "I hope so... what she did was pretty serious, and honestly? I hope she snitches on that Adam guy. He's dangerous."

Coco hummed in understanding in response to the Faunus girl. However, she opted to silently continue with painting the Rabbit-Faunus' nails rather than input her opinion on the whole ordeal. She still couldn't really wrap her head around the Rabbit-Faunus' reasoning for not telling Blake or Yang about the interaction that she had with Ilia. When she questioned her Faunus girlfriend about it, she was given a rather strange answer.

Velvet rationalized that if she told the bumblebee pair about Ilia's involvement with the whole situation, then the lot of it all might get out of hand. The fashionista assumed that what Velvet meant was that things would get physical. Which honestly wasn't that far-fetched, considering that Blake clocked Adam in the face just by Yang _telling her_ that it was the Bull-Faunus who assaulted her.

Coco was pretty sure that Blake might do the same to Ilia if she found out the Chameleon-Faunus was in on it. Well... even if Blake decided _not_ to get back at Ilia, then the Cat-Faunus would, at the very least, cease all association with her.

However, Velvet seemed to believe that Ilia would own up to it.

When the fashionista finished painting her girlfriend's nails, she let out a playful 'voila!'

"I'm done~"

Upon declaring that fact, Coco got caught off guard when Velvet abruptly decided to lay down on her lap.

The Rabbit-Faunus had her back against the other brown-haired girl's thighs, with her head cushioned by the couch's armrest. After getting over the initial surprise of the sudden movement, Coco simply gazed down at her adorable Faunus girlfriend. Soon, she found herself absentmindedly rubbing small circles behind Velvet's Faunus ears. And judging by the satisfied smile emanating from the Faunus girl's lips, the fashionista figured that the action was welcomed.

"Coco can you scratch a li-ttle bit higher?"

Coco grinned, and did as she was told. Her fingers continued on with their ministrations, moving from the base of one of the the girl's ears, slowly to its tip. She paused, and focused at a particular spot about halfway through when she saw the girl's nose twitch in what seemed to be delight.

"Ooooh! just right there, Coco!"

The fashionista playfully rolled her eyes at how spoiled Velvet was acting, but made no motion to stop. "As you wish, Velv."

They went on like this for a while, with Velvet humming in satisfaction every now and then.

Coco let her mind wander off while she played with Velvet's ears. She could honestly stay like this for _hours_ if the Rabbit-Faunus permitted it. Right now, it felt as if they were in their own little world devoid from any of life's problems. Time seemed to stand still, and the only thing that existed in these precious moments were both Coco and Velvet.

The fashionista inwardly smiled at that last part of her thoughts.

A world where there was nothing but her Faunus girlfriend sounded blissful. Shortly after making that silent declaration, Coco inwardly _rolled her eyes_ at herself.

 _Wow... I'm acting incredibly gay right now._

Rather than letting her (gay) thoughts about the Rabbit-Faunus run rampant, the fashionista forced herself into focusing on the said Rabbit-Faunus on her lap.

Her eyes then widened in shock when she was face-to-face with Velvet.

Who was now _straddling_ her lap.

* * *

 _When did she-?!_

Coco's face went scarlet, and she tried her best to address the girl on top of her.

"V-Velv?" Coco barely managed to squeak out.

"Hmm?" Velvet responded nonchalantly as she slowly began to wrap her arms around the fashionista's shoulders; acting as if everything she was doing at the moment _wasn't_ out of the ordinary.

Usually, the Faunus girl wasn't this forward when it came to displays of affection. The most Velvet would instigate were cuddles, and maybe a peck on the cheek. So seeing her be this... _daring_ was quite jarring for Coco.

It's not like Coco was complaining or anything, but she would at least like to mentally prepare herself for... _whatever_ it was that Velvet had in mind. And judging from how Velvet's eyes had glazed over with raw _need,_ the fashionista had a feeling that what the other girl wanted wasn't rated PG. The way in which the setting sun's rays had made the Faunus girl look like some sensual, etherial being didn't help either.

Coco then made the fatal mistake of directing gaze at Velvet's lips.

She nearly groaned when she saw the Faunus girl bite down on those very lips.

The fashionista's own eyes started gloss over, and all she could think of was how good it'd feel to pin down the Rabbit-Faunus against the couch.

"Velvet...?" Coco swallowed thickly, "Y-You're a little close..."

Velvet leaned in, and briefly rested her forehead against Coco's own.

"Not close enough."

Coco automatically shut her eyes when Velvet closed the distance between their lips.

The kiss started out slow, as both girls clumsily tried to figure out what pace to go at. Coco made the executive decision to let the Faunus girl take charge of the moment, seeing as the brown-haired Faunus seemed intent on keeping the dominant role. She could feel herself melting into the Velvet's touch, and she desperately tried to close whatever space there was left between their bodies.

The fashionista's hands began to wander; first lingering on Velvet's thighs, where she paused momentarily to appreciate their sheer _softness._

However, Coco was caught off guard yet again when the Rabbit-Faunus broke the kiss momentarily to roughly grab the bottom of her shirt. Soon, the fashionista found herself stripped of that very shirt, and watched as Velvet flung the article of clothing into the middle of her apartment's hallway.

Before she could register the embarrassment of being in nothing but a freaking _bra_ in front of her girlfriend... Velvet had relinquished her lips once again. The Rabbit-Faunus grabbed Coco's hands and directed them to her hips.

She pulled back slightly, and let out a shaky breath, "J-Just put your hands there while I-..mmnh..."

Coco then felt as Velvet began to firmly grind her hips against her lap. Without thinking about it, Coco began to guide the Faunus girl's motions and adjusted herself so the Rabbit-Faunus could get more _friction._ This caused Velvet to let out a sound between a whine and a moan; which was a noise that Coco reciprocated herself when she felt the Faunus girl run a hand down her stomach.

Velvet seemed to use this an opportunity to deepen the kiss. Soon, Coco felt the Rabbit-Faunus' tongue tentatively trace her bottom lip. It was a wet, but soft sensation that the fashionista welcomed nevertheless. She clumsily met the girl half-way, and suddenly, they were both engaged in a battle for dominance. The fashionista didn't even bother to bite down the moan the erupted from her throat as Velvet continued to graze her hand down her abs.

 _Wait... where is she...?_

Coco's eyes flew wide open when she realized just _where_ the Faunus girl's hand was heading.

In one haphazard motion, she swiftly grabbed Velvet's hands and stopped them in their trajectory.

Makeout sessions were one thing.

But where _this interaction_ was going was something else entirely. This was the kind of thing that she genuinely wanted to prepare herself for!

Honestly, in hindsight, Coco should've known that this situation was going to escalate to this point. Especially if she was going to consider the fact that her shirt was _not_ on her body, but rather on the floor in the middle of Velvet's apartment hallway. She got too caught up in the moment.

The hot, _steamy_ moment that she was now kind of sad that she interrupted herself.

What did Coco even _do_ to initiate such a reaction from Velvet? All she did was scratch the girl's Faunus ears!

"Uhh... Coco?"

The girl in question jumped back to reality, and then properly addressed the Rabbit-Faunus in front of her. She noted, with mild amusement, that the other brown-haired girl held a little pout at the jarring cessation of their rather steamy session.

"Uhh... y-your nails!" Coco blurted out. She mentally kicked herself in the face for coming up with such a stupid excuse, but rolled with it. "I-uh, don't want to ruin your nails. We just painted them..."

Velvet seemed to contemplate Coco's explanation...

 _For all of five seconds_ before she slid her hands right into the fashionista's hair. Undoubtedly _ruining_ the work that Coco had done to paint them. The brown-haired girl was taken by surprise _yet again_ when Velvet roughly jerked Coco's head back, and slightly to the side. She did nothing to stop the girl from leaning in, and shuddered when she felt the Rabbit-Faunus' breath linger at her right ear.

"We can paint them again later."

 _BAM! BAM! BAM!_

Velvet immediately pulled back, and scowled at the sound.

" _Velv~"_ a familiar, deep voice sang from behind the Faunus girl's apartment door, " _I've come bearing good news!"_

Coco had to stifle a giggle at the dramatic eye roll that Velvet displayed. The brown-haired Faunus then removed herself from Coco's lap, and stomped her way towards the front door. The brown-haired girl on the couch dumbly stared on at her girlfriend but then started to panic.

 _I still don't have a freaking shirt on!_

She quickly found a temporary solution to this problem by hiding in Velvet's kitchen, which was away from the apartment door's view. She then opted to stay quiet while she listened to her girlfriend's conversation.

The door _creaked_! open, and Velvet huffed. "What is it, Yatsu?!" The Rabbit-Faunus snapped.

" _Yeesh!_ " Yatsuhashi exclaimed, "I just came to say that Junior said it was alright for you to have tomorrow off and that he's... proud... of you..."

Coco quirked a brow when the massive boy's voice trailed off.

"Whose shirt is in the middle of the hallway? I _know_ you don't own brand-name clothes..."

Coco had to bite down an utterly embarrassed whine. Velvet, on the other hand, let out a groan. "Out!"

The fashionista then heard the line cook _giggle_ and hum in understanding.

"hmmm... the slightly flushed demeanour, the haphazardly thrown shirt on the floor, the telltale signs of dishevelment, _and_ the obvious expression of pure sexual frustration plastered on your face. Oooh, and lets not forget that I _didn't_ see Coco leave the pub yet..." Yatsuhashi began to list off; with his voice notably rising at the end of his spiel - letting the fashionista know that he more or less so knew that she was still there.

He then gasped melodramatically. "Is it _that time of the season,_ Velv-!"

 _SLAM!_

Coco heard Yatsuhashi guffaw from the other side of the door. His laughter began to trail off, and soon the fashionista couldn't hear him anymore.

She then jumped in surprise when she felt the sudden sensation of a cloth being pelted at her chest. Coco scrambled to catch the thing and realized that it was her shirt. She wasted no time in putting the thing back onto her body, but then stared quizzically at the Rabbit-Faunus as she plopped herself on the couch.

Coco opted to lean against the counter while she observed her girlfriend in both confusion and concern. She watched as the Faunus girl grabbed her scroll, and began to check something on its screen.

Velvet's Faunus ears then flattened in, what Coco assumed to be, either embarrassment or shame.

"Oh so _now_ my freaking body decides to go in-UGH!" Velvet let out a high-pitched groan. "Man, I thought I just skipped this cycle!"

The fashionista simply arched a brow at the Faunus girl, and just gave her a confused smile when she caught Velvet's gaze. Which seemed to be apologetic.

"I-I'm sorry I basically _jumped_ on you, Coco..." Velvet began, in a small voice. Coco noted that all of the girl's gusto and sensual energy had immediately dissipated. "It's just... er, right now... I'm in... heat."

The brown-haired fashionista had to actively prevent herself from snickering.

Apparently, Velvet took her silence as an indicator to go on. "I-If I start to do anything that you don't like, don't hesitate to stop me!" the Faunus girl continued on, "And I might be more uh, _careless_ or _bold_ with the PDA. So if that makes you uncomfortable then-!"

"Velv."

The Rabbit-Faunus promptly shut her mouth, and stared back at the fashionista with doe eyes.

Coco playfully huffed, and walked towards the Faunus girl on the couch. She decided to sit on the small coffee table, across from Velvet, and smiled sweetly at the fretting girl.

"I, for one, am totally okay with PDA... however," Coco trailed off, hints of amusement laced within her voice, "things like making out on my lap is probably better suited for when we're in private." She then chuckled, "and next time, maybe let me know what you want or what you're going to do. That kind of came out of nowhere, and although it was _thoroughly_ _appreciated,_ I'd like some time to gather my bearings..."

Velvet simply blushed, and nodded feebly. "Y-Yeah! That much I can do."

"Awesome. Now where were we?"

Coco didn't even give Velvet the chance to bashfully react as she sidled up on the Faunus girl's lap. Something about this whole situation made the brown-haired girl feel like it wasn't _fair_ that she was the only one being caught off guard. She kind of wanted to get back at Velvet.

And... if she were to be honest with herself?

She was _still_ feeling hot and bothered.

Velvet choked out an awkward laugh, but then abruptly put up her hands to Coco's face; giving the fashionista a good view of her nails (which were already a little botched).

"W-Wait! We'll ruin my nails..."

Coco playfully rolled her eyes, and then grabbed one of the Rabbit-Faunus' hands. She planted a kiss into Velvet's right palm, and winked.

"We can paint them again later."

* * *

"Nice nails, Velv!"

Blake stopped taking notes, and looked up from her Business Study Guide to get a good look at the nails that Yang just complimented.

The Faunus girl was currently in the Academy's cafeteria with the rest of their group, minus one Ruby Rose.

Yang was sitting on her left, keeping herself busy with some homework that she needed to catch up on. The brown-haired duo were situated across from them, with Velvet sitting in front of Yang, and Coco in front of Blake. To the Cat-Faunus' right was none other than Weiss; who incidentally had been preoccupied with staring down a certain _redhead_ that was sitting with a different group of people.

 _I wonder if they're even going to last the week..._

Instead of dwelling on the White-and-Red pair, Blake opted to focus once more on Velvet.

A small, appreciative smile came across her face once she caught sight of the Rabbit-Faunus' hands, and she promptly agreed.

"They look wonderful, Velv." Blake added, "Did Coco paint them?"

For some odd reason, the brown-haired Faunus blushed. "E-Er... yeah! She did."

"They look professional!" Yang praised, her homework long forgotten (or finished? Blake didn't know).

The mentioned fashionista puffed up in pride. "Well I've gotta give nothing but the _best_ to my girlfriend." She then winked at Velvet. "She deserves it, especially after winning her photo contest. They also look very nice alongside the dress that I picked out for her."

"Yes, they do." Velvet wholeheartedly agreed.

Blake then watched, with mild surprise, as the Rabbit-Faunus _boldly_ pecked a lingering kiss on Coco's lips. A small smile made its way to the Cat-Faunus' face when she saw the bashful blush that Coco exhibited in response to Velvet's sudden action.

The other two girls who were present for the rather cute gesture also reacted in very different ways.

Yang let out a teasing ' _oooooh~!'_ and grinned a madwoman. Weiss, on the other hand, frowned and _barely_ concealed the disgust from her face when she witnessed such PDA.

"Ugh, get a _room._ "

The blonde next to Blake leaned over the table, and gave the grumpy Schnee a shit-eating grin. "Is our favourite _Ice Princess_ feeling a little down from my sister not eating with her?"

Blake could feel herself grinning too when she heard the white-haired girl huff in defiance. The Cat-Faunus' amusement increased even more so when Weiss didn't even say anything to refute Yang's words. The former heiress simply continued to sit there, _moping_ over the fact that she wasn't with her redheaded girlfriend. Well... rather than 'moping' around, Weiss was more so fuming. Actually, it seemed like she _really_ wanted to get something off her chest. Blake couldn't really tell.

But she knew for a fact that Weiss was _not_ happy with her situation.

" _You_ were the one who formulated the plan, you know." Blake pointed out, not even bothering to hide the amusement that she felt from seeing her friend acting all 'mopey.'

Weiss scoffed, "I'm well aware of that fact, Blake." She then sighed, "but we have to convince Jacques and Salem that I drifted away from Ruby so they don't suspect that we're basically plotting the man's downfall. I already informed my father that I cut ties with her, and I know that he's going to make Cinder report to him on whether or not I've been staying true to that claim."

Yang hummed in understanding, "That makes sense, I guess..." the blonde stated as she held a brief expression of contemplation. However, soon after, Yang's grin made its appearance onto her face again, "but maybe you should lay off on the intense staring, Weiss. Your eyes have been glued on Ruby for the past thirty minutes."

"Actually, I think she should continue with her fixated gaze," Coco chimed in, clearly enjoying herself. "It honestly seems like she's _glaring_ at Ruby, or at least like she's glaring at her general direction."

Without missing a beat, Weiss finally blurted out what was on her mind.

"Who's that ginger next to Ruby?"

The Cat-Faunus immediately directed her gaze towards the redhead in question, and became mildly surprised by what she found.

Ruby was sitting across the cafeteria with two other students; one of which was Jaune Arc, who Blake already knew. However, Blake wasn't familiar with the 'ginger' that Weiss pointed out. Apparently, she was pretty good friends with the hyperactive redhead because Ruby was laughing up a storm at something that the girl had said. The girl, on the other hand, just held a confused smile which obviously showed that she didn't know what was so funny, but nevertheless appeared happy that Ruby was enjoying herself. Even Jaune joined in on the laughter, too.

"Oh her? That's just Penny." Yang answered evenly... well, the amusement laced within the blonde's voice betrayed the nonchalance that she tried to play off. "You have nothing to worry about, though." The blonde added with a cheeky grin, "Penny's just one of Ruby's friends from her department."

"I am not _worried_!" Weiss shot back as she crossed her arms, "I'm just _curious_."

"Oh she is _totally_ worried." Coco quipped.

In response, Weiss expertly threw the pencil that _was_ in Blake's hand at the fashionista's face. This action resulted in both Coco and Blake letting out a collective, annoyed 'hey!' at the white-haired girl. The said white-haired girl simply stared back at her friends unapologetically.

Before either of the girls could retaliate, the blaring sound of the school's bells had rung.

Blake and the others simply bid the brown-haired couple a goodbye. They had to leave to get ready for the event at that Remnant Arts institute, and Coco didn't want to waste any time in getting the Rabbit-Faunus ready for it.

"I'll just meet you in class, Blake."

Blake arched a brow, "Wha-? Why don't you just walk with us?"

"Because I'd rather not watch you and the brute flirt throughout our entire endeavour to our class." Weiss deadpanned, and then walked away before Blake could even reply. The Cat-Faunus watched her white-haired friend's receding form in mild confusion and then chuckled.

"Is Ruby just as affected as Weiss with this whole thing?" Blake questioned the blonde as they made their way out of the cafeteria.

Yang fell in step with the Faunus girl's stride, and scoffed. "Don't get me _started_ , Blakey..."

"So I take that she's been just as grumpy?"

The blonde playfully rolled her eyes. "More like _whiny._ "

Blake simply giggled at Yang's curt answer. The Cat-Faunus didn't need to ask what a 'whiny Ruby' would entail. She had a pretty good idea that it wasn't exactly the most pleasant thing to deal with, especially judging by the worn out look on the blonde's face.

 _Are Ruby and Weiss even going to last the week...?_

Suddenly, Blake felt the sensation of Yang's prosthetic hand tentatively brushing against her own. The Faunus girl gave Yang a curious sidelong glance, and couldn't help but smile at the bashful way in which the blonde stared down at her; hopeful uncertainty swimming within the girl's lilac eyes. The Cat-Faunus soon found herself reciprocating the gesture, and swiftly held onto the blondes hand.

This resulted in Yang eliciting one of the goofiest grins that Blake had ever seen.

Blake's heart melted at the unadulterated _joy_ that the blonde displayed from such a small gesture.

 _What a goof..._

The girls then entered a comfortable, silent lull as they walked idly towards the Cat-Faunus' lecture hall. The rush of the slightly panicked students trying to get to their classes fell into the background, and were soon forgotten as the pair simply enjoyed each others company. Blake took notice of how the blonde would sometimes rub small circles into the back of her thumb, which was a feeling that the Cat-Faunus welcomed.

However, once Blake actually caught sight of Yang's expression, she tilted her head in curiosity.

The blonde had a bit of a frown gracing her lips, and seemed to be deep in thought. Soon, the Cat-Faunus' curiosity transformed into mild concern, and she made the decision to question the girl next to her.

"Is everything alright, Yang?"

Yang snapped out of it, and tried to give the Faunus girl one of her signature grins. It was more than obvious to Blake that the gesture was a little bit forced, and she gave the blonde an unconvinced look. For a couple of moments, they simply stared at each other as Blake waited patiently for Yang to find the words to articulate what was on her mind.

They stopped walking altogether, and somehow guided themselves to a rather secluded spot at the side of the hallway. From where they were standing, Blake could see the door that led to her lecture hall. But she payed the class no mind, and focused on the girl in front of her.

Subconsciously, the Cat-Faunus began to rub small circles onto the back of Yang's prosthetic hand.

"I... can't feel it."

Blake knitted her brows in confusion, and inquisitively stared at the blonde as a prompt for her to continue on.

Yang chuckled humourlessly. "Your warmth... I can't feel it."

For a moment, Blake didn't understand what Yang was getting at. But then realization dawned on her when she processed that the hand she was holding was basically just a piece of metal. The blonde couldn't actually _feel_ the sensation of Blake's hand against her own. And since her other arm was still healing in a cast, Yang probably believed that she couldn't do much about this frustration that she had.

"Oh Yang..."

"Heh, I know it's kind of stupid to be upset about this, especially considering the fact that it's only temporary, " the blonde began as she rubbed the back of head. "but I can't even feel it when you're holding my hand, and it reminds of how we take things like physical contact for granted...?" Yang's voice trailed off, and she shook her head. "Ugh, now that I'm saying it out loud, it really sounds stupid..."

Blake swiftly placed a hand on the blonde's cheek, and she felt the girl lean into her touch. "Don't say that. It's not stupid, Yang. I understand what you're trying to say."

Yang lovingly stared back down at the Cat-Faunus, and smiled. "Thanks, Blake."

"And..." Blake continued on, briefly flitting her gaze towards the hallway. Thankfully, majority of the students around them had already entered their next class, leaving the Cat-Faunus alone with her girlfriend.

"You can feel someone's warmth in many ways..." the Faunus girl stated in a low voice.

Blake then closed the distance between them, while making sure that she didn't apply any pressure on Yang's casted hand. She noted, with amusement, how the blonde had already shut her eyes in anticipation. However, the girl's lilac eyes flew open when Blake didn't go in for a kiss. Instead, the Cat-Faunus slid a hand under the blonde's shirt, and slowly traced the length of her spine; resting her hand at the small of Yang's back. She didn't fail to notice the way in which the blonde shuddered at her touch.

"You felt that, right?" the Cat-Faunus whispered into the blonde's ear.

Yang gulped, "Y-Yeah."

Blake then caught Yang's ear between her lips, and gave it a little nip.

"That too?"

"Yup!" the blonde squeaked out.

As her final example, Blake affectionately rubbed her temple against the taller girl's cheek. She could feel herself blushing from initiating such an intimate act, but she powered through it. After all, nuzzling was a Cat-Faunus custom that was only reserved for those who were closest you. The last person the dark-haired Faunus had nuzzled was her _mother_ , and that was years ago - when she was a child.

Now, when she was committing the act, it was under a different context that was more romantic than platonic.

A soft purr erupted from her chest as she continued this gesture, and when she decided that it was enough, the Faunus girl pulled back and rested her forehead against the blonde's own.

"And how'd that feel?"

Yang beamed her a smile.

"Warm."

* * *

 **Hehehe I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter xD Thought I could give y'all a little fluffy break from the drama :P Lmaooo I attempted to write a bit of a 'steamy' scene between Coco and Velvet; hopefully it didn't come across as awkward! I couldn't understand how people can write that kinda stuff so well (I was lamenting all the while I wrote it, and it wasn't even that longgg).**

 **Lmaooo I hope you guys are still enjoying it! Keep letting me know what ya think :D**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	40. Chapter 40

**Well Hellooooo there my dear readers! 'Tis an update for you!**

 **Hehe enjoy!**

* * *

Yang couldn't get rid of the grin that was permanently plastered on her face.

After having that intimate conversation with Blake, the blonde was feeling a little bit better about this whole ordeal regarding her attack. Although Blake didn't say much, Yang had to admit that the Faunus girl had a pretty impactful way with words. Usually, when Yang got stuck in her head it would take a while for someone to ease her out of the emotional shit-storm that she'd conjure up in her mind.

But that was only because Yang was pretty good at hiding her feelings, and by the time anyone actually noticed, her thoughts would already be in a messed up place. Well... the exceptions to that fact were Ruby, her Moms, and Velvet; and apparently now, Blake.

The Cat-Faunus was able to pick up on her changing mood and helped her in mere moments. She validated Yang's feelings, and reminded her of how her disability didn't necessarily limit her. Instead, she had to find a way to work around it and adapt to those changes.

Of course, those weren't the Cat-Faunus' exact words. But the premise behind Blake's actions basically had the same sentiment.

Soon, Yang could feel a goofy smile make its way onto her lips when she recalled the fresh memory.

 _Heh... she nuzzled me too._

Yeah, the blonde was _definitely_ going to figure out how she could get Blake to do that again.

"Man, I'm so lucky..." Yang gushed out loud to nobody in particular, "like, how the hell could I end up being so luck-YOUCH!"

Apparently Yang had spoken too soon because as she turned the corner at the end of the hall, she all but rammed into another student; casted arm first. As a result, a sharp, shooting sensation shot up her affected arm, and she hissed out in pain.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you oka-!" the student blurted out, but then paused. "Y-Yang...?"

After getting over the initial shock of being bumped into, the blonde registered who the student was and just opted to give them an awkward smile. There wasn't really a point in actually getting mad, considering it was an accident.

"Er... Hey, Ilia." Yang greeted, rubbing the back of her head with her prosthetic hand. "And I'm all good. It was just a small bump."

The Chameleon-Faunus stared back at her in mild disbelief. "Are you sure, Yang?"

She didn't exactly blame the Faunus for not believing her when she said that she was okay. Ilia bumped into her really _hard_. Like, _really fucking hard._ In the back of her mind, Yang wondered just _where_ Ilia was going. It must've been somewhere important, considering the brisk pace that she was borderline running at.

"Yeah, totally." the blonde swiftly answered. "Where were you heading to, anyways? You seem like you're in a hurry."

"Oh...I, uh..." Ilia trailed off, somewhat caught off guard by Yang's curiosity. Well, rather than surprised, the Reptile-Faunus appeared more so... guarded? Either way, Yang didn't take it too personally.

Any normal person probably would have, especially if they were to consider the fact that Ilia basically tried to _threaten_ Yang into staying away from Blake. If anything, _she_ should've been the one acting guarded in front of the Reptile-Faunus.

Yeah...it would kind of be an understatement to say that they didn't start off on the right foot.

However, the blonde tried not to think too deeply into it.

Sure, Ilia seemed to harbour some _serious hate_ for humans, which Yang figured was justifiable since humans are _still_ treating Faunus like a sub-species. But, despite Ilia's misgivings, the blonde _knew_ that she wasn't a part of the group of humans that the Reptile-Faunus was generalizing her under. So she didn't take any of the Faunus girl's hostility personally.

 _She's probably been through a lot._..

Kind of like a certain Rabbit-Faunus that she knew of.

Ilia finally sighed.

"I was just heading to Ozpin's office."

Yang hummed in understanding. "Oh, are you giving him your weekly report about your transition into Beacon?" She chuckled. "I just gave him mine recently, too."

After a moment's hesitation, the Reptile-Faunus simply nodded and offered Yang a small smile. "Yeah... where _was_ his office again? I'm still getting used to the whole layout of the Academy."

"Oh! Just go down this hall," Yang began to explain as she pointed down the hallway, "and at the end of this unnecessarily long hallway, take a left. From there, you just need to keep on going straight until you see a door on your right that says 'Headmaster's Office' on it."

It took a moment for the Chameleon-Faunus to commit Yang's words to memory, but when it seemed like she finally did, Ilia nodded. "Alright. Got it." the Faunus confirmed as she scratched the back of her head. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

She was about to turn around to head to her next class, but then Ilia decided to pipe up again.

"Oh and uh... Yang?"

The brawler stopped in her tracks, and stared back at the Faunus girl quizzically. She took notice of how Ilia's gaze didn't exactly meet her own, but instead lingered on her casted arm.

"Again... I'm sorry about your arm." The Chameleon-Faunus apologized, and then sighed. "I, uh... didn't mean for that to happen."

Yang quirked a brow at how weirdly the other girl worded her apology.

Nevertheless, the blonde simply grinned. "It's _okay_ , Ilia. It's not like you rammed into me on purpose."

"Right..." the Faunus girl somewhat returned Yang's grin. Despite the small smile, it was plain as day that Ilia's expression was apologetic - borderline _remorseful,_ actually.

"I'll see you around, Yang."

The blonde awkwardly coughed into her prosthetic hand. She had never been good at dealing with super apologetic people.

"Ahem! E-Er... right. See ya around, Ilia."

Shortly after, the two girls parted ways.

* * *

At this point, Velvet just wanted to get this night out of the way.

Okay, so yeah... she was having a wonderful time preparing for it with her super amazing fashionista of a girlfriend. And _Yeah_ , she was beyond excited about the incredible opportunity she got to network with the teachers of her _dream school_.

However, she'd be lying if she were to say that she wasn't nervous.

She honestly felt like she was going to vomit. If it were happy vomit or anxious vomit, she didn't know. It was probably a mixture of both.

"Velv, are you okay?"

The Rabbit-Faunus looked over from the passenger seat, and gave the girl that was driving a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm all good Coco." she responded. "Now keep your eyes on the road! I actually want to make it to the event."

Velvet could sense a smile inching its way onto her girlfriend's lips, and she mentally braced herself for the cheesy response that she _knew_ that the fashionista was going to give her.

"I don't know if I can do that, Velv..." Coco began, "I mean, how could I not look at you when you're _this beautiful?_ "

The Rabbit-Faunus simply made a playfully disgusted sound, and grinned from ear-to-ear. "Augh! Please refrain from the cheesy flirting while we're at Remnant Arts..."

Coco directed her gaze back onto the road, and hummed contemplatively. "Only if you can refrain from jumping on me while we're there too."

Velvet felt her face grow hot from the fashionista's quip. But, with the way the fashionista had dressed for the event, she could truthfully say that she couldn't make any promises in response to Coco's playful request.

In reality... it took a considerable amount of Velvet's willpower to not pounce on the fashionista in that very moment.

 _Ugh... I'm really going to have to control myself while we're at the institute! Damn you, heat cycle!_

But honestly who could _blame her_!?

Coco really knew how to pull off a tux.

The dark brown, velvety tux jacket that the fashionista wore was very slimming and suited the girl so well! Underneath the tux, Coco wore a buttonless, black dress shirt that had a deep-V neck line (which honestly drove the Rabbit-Faunus borderline _crazy_ ), and she finished the outfit off with black capris slacks.

The fashionista looked _so damn good_.

But, instead of openly displaying how much she was truly affected by Coco's apparel, Velvet simply opted to playfully stick her tongue out at the girl.

Soon, the car entered a comfortable, silent lull and the Rabbit-Faunus used that time to calm her nerves. She gazed out of the window to view the nighttime scenery, and the corners of her mouth began to curl upwards.

It was vastly different from downtown Vale.

They seemed to be navigating towards a more metropolitan section of the city. Well, Velvet wasn't sure that where they were heading was even considered a part of Vale, especially with how far uptown they were driving. But, according the her Scroll's GPS, they were technically still in the city... albeit a very _different_ part of it. She was actually expecting her surroundings to be more sub-urban since they were getting further away from downtown.

Instead, the girls were met with a rather modern area with a bunch of condos, and clubs. There were a number of entertainment establishments lining the sides of the streets, and at every corner there would be an elaborate public art display for the citizens to see. The nightlife in uptown Vale varied from its downtown counterpart in that it contained a type of chaotic, and artful type of energy. Velvet was sure that the area probably had the same type of atmosphere during the day.

There were people of all races out and about, either idly walking by on their own or playfully making a spectacle of themselves if they were with a group of friends. There were also street performers engaging small crowds with mesmerizing acts (some of which included elemental _dust_!), and music players adding onto the liveliness of the atmosphere. From the various entertainment establishments, Velvet could see their neon lights pouring into the general ambience of the streets and lighting up the night.

It kind of reminded her of downtown Mistral - a place that held many fond memories.

That was most likely why she found herself enjoying it.

"I didn't think uptown Vale would be like this..."

Velvet smiled as she regarded the fashionista. "Me neither! But I like it."

"Me too."

"Date night, here?"

Coco chuckled. "Definitely."

 _"In 500 metres, turn right at the stoplight._ _Then, the destination REMNANT ARTS will be at the end of the street on your left."_

Velvet could feel herself get excited at the sound of her GPS' instructions. As instructed, the fashionista turned on the supposed street that Remnant Arts was on. Soon, the Rabbit-Faunus was looking beyond the dashboard, and trying to get a visual of the institute that she had been dying to attend since she was a child. They finally rolled to a stop in front of Remnant Arts, and her eyes widened marginally from what she saw.

" _Whoa._ "

The fashionista next to her hummed. "Whoa indeed..."

The Arts institute didn't seem to hold back when it came to hosting social events. There was a red velvet carpet that led into the entryway of the building, and huge show lights that illuminated the school's entrance for the whole world to see. Specifically, the lights were directed towards the institute's sleek name. Passersby could see the name ' _Remnant Arts'_ outlined in big, bold letters. It was a minimalistic design that suited the school quite well (at least in Velvet's opinion).

The building itself was a different story.

Velvet always suspected that the online photos of Remnant Arts were photoshopped/exaggerated to make it look more glam... but now that she was there, right in front of the building itself, she could confirm that the photos were accurate.

The base of the building itself was a decent length, but the Rabbit-Faunus couldn't say the same for its height. The institute stood a whopping seven stories tall, and was built in the same fashion as a condominium building. What made the infrastructure of the institute unique was how each floor was shaped, and 'stacked' upon one another.

Some floors actually _stuck out_ of the building's original foundation, like they were wrongly placed puzzle pieces. And others were shaped in a way that had Velvet wondering about how the architects managed to keep them stable! One of the 'floors' or 'lecture halls' stuck out from the side of the building in a spherical, dome-like shape. It was _crazy!_

In one of those 'blocks', Velvet could literally see into the venue that the social event was held in. It was on what appeared to be the second floor of the institute, and was one of the 'blocks' that stuck out from the building. The majority of the floor's walls were made out of _glass_ \- like they wanted that level to be transparent. She could also vaguely see the institute's professors and students mingling around in their various gowns and suits.

Velvet couldn't wait to jump into that crowd.

Suddenly, the Faunus girl was jolted back to reality when the car door in front of her opened. She didn't know when, but Coco had exited from the driver's seat and went around to escort Velvet out of the car.

She was met with the fashionista smiling brilliantly down at her, while offering Velvet a hand.

"Shall we get this party started?"

Velvet simply took Coco's hand, and returned the smile.

"We shall!"

* * *

Coco immediately went to hand her car keys to the valet.

When she did so, she pulled Velvet to her side and they began to walk on the red carpet towards the building. However, before they could even step into the actual institute, Velvet stopped Coco in her tracks and pulled at the lapels of her tux jacket. This sudden movement caught her off guard, but once she mentally composed herself, the fashionista let out a teasing grin.

"You couldn't even wait until we got into the building to get your hands on me?"

"Hush, you! I'm just fixing the collar of your tux."

Coco couldn't help but chuckle at the flustered Rabbit-Faunus, but just opted to silently watch the girl as she fixed her tux jacket. She could see a faint, pink tint adorn the adorable Rabbit-Faunus' face while she smoothed out her collar.

Velvet then gave Coco's jacket one last pat, and hummed in satisfaction.

"Perfect."

Coco winked. "Aren't I always?"

Suddenly, the fashionista felt the other girl roughly grab her by her jacket's lapels and pull her into a kiss.

"Yes. You are."

It was Coco's turn to act flustered. She could feel a familiar warm flush make its way onto her cheeks, and all she could do was smile dopily back at the bold Faunus girl.

"I never knew that Velvet could be so _aggressive_." a new voice suddenly teased.

"I _know_! It's kinda gross." a second voice added.

"Dew, May. Leave the girl alone." a third, but mildly entertained voice finally chimed in.

Both Coco and Velvet turned to face the women that interrupted their little moment. Coco turned more out of curiosity, whereas Velvet did so out of slight annoyance. They were met with the scene of three women, that Coco assumed to be a part of Velvet's Arts program, walking towards them.

The first woman was a girl with dirty blonde hair who sported an elegant, forest green nightgown with a sweetheart neckline. There were traces of beads and lace integrated within the girl's dress that made it eye-catching, but not imposing. Coco also noted the dress itself had a bit of a train trailing behind the girl, and that she was linking arms with a woman with dark, purple hair.

The woman with the purple hair seemed to base her outfit out of her hair colour. She wore a violet tux jacket with a white dress shirt underneath it. The purple-haired woman also went with violet slacks to top her outfit off. It was a slightly quirky, yet appealing look that Coco believed to suit the woman very well.

As for the third person...

"May! This is a _formal event._ Why are you wearing your _beanie_? and is that a hoodie underneath your blazer!?" Velvet quested the girl incredulously.

"This beanie is a physical part of my body so don't even try to take it off." the girl named May deadpanned. " _and_ if you look closely you can see that I'm still technically following the dress code!" she exclaimed as she held the front of her hoodie up.

Coco almost laughed.

The girl was wearing a white hoodie that had a freaking black _neck-tie_ printed on the front of it.

 _I mean... she's not wrong. That IS a black tie._

Velvet simply stared on at the other, more formally dressed pair in exasperation. They simply returned the look with a defeated expression of their own, and shrugged. Instead of continuing on to berate May about her appearance, Velvet opted to grumble under her breath. Something about how ' _way too lax people from Vacuo are_...'

"Soooo... are you gonna introduce us to your girlfriend or what?"

In response, the Rabbit-Faunus perked up and swiftly linked arms with Coco, who was still trying to process what was happening. Velvet then beamed the other three a smile. "This is my amazing girlfriend Coco!"

Coco blushed at the rather prideful introduction, but nevertheless flashed the girls a smile and gave them a half-wave with her unoccupied hand.

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you girls."

"Likewise," the purple-haired girl responded first. "My name is Nebula, by the way. I'm Velvet's T.A."

The girl with the dirty blonde hair offered the fashionista a friendly smile. "And I'm Dew."

"I'm May!" the girl with the hoodie exclaimed. "It's great to finally meet you! Velv's been holding out on the juicy details of your relationship, and I'm hoping that _you'll_ be able to share~"

Velvet rolled her eyes. "I've got nothing _juicy_ to tell you, May."

The fashionista quirked a brow at the Faunus girl. "Then what was all of that from this morning?"

May let out a playful, scandalized gasp. "This _morni-?!"_ the girl stopped mid-sentence, and grinned at Velvet. "Oh my God, you guys are already sleeping over at each other's places?! Velvet, you work _fast_."

The Rabbit-Faunus immediately flushed, and roughly grabbed Coco by her collar. "Let's just go inside already!"

Coco simply raised her arms in surrender as she was dragged into the institute by her cute, flustered girlfriend. The girls followed closely behind them, and giggled at the Rabbit-Faunus' embarrassed behaviour.

When they finally walked through the glass doors that led into the institutes main entranceway, the girls were immediately bombarded with a number art displays scattered across what Coco would call the 'foyer.' It was like they were standing in an art museum, but there were various doors that seemed to lead into art studios and classrooms.

There was also a decently-sized sign, in plain view, that directed them to take a stairwell at the far side of the room that led to the second floor of the institute. From where they were standing, Coco could see the rather large flight of stairs. It was like something akin to a grand stairway.

She also noted how some of the students were mingling in the general area, talking and laughing amongst themselves. It would seem that the Remnant Arts students started to take notice of them too. Some of them looked over the girls with disinterest, but most appeared to be curious about who they were.

One redheaded boy in particular held his gaze on Velvet for a little bit _too long_.

On instinct, Coco swiftly placed her arm around the Faunus girl's waist and pulled her close. Velvet, who was preoccupied by the art displays in the general foyer area, seemed to think nothing of it and leaned into the fashionista's side.

Coco smirked when the irrelevant boy got the memo, and looked away in embarrassment.

A part of Coco didn't blame the boy too much, especially with the way the Faunus girl was dressed.

The brown-haired girl really outdid herself when she styled her girlfriend in an elegant, full-length black velvet night gown with a deep-V neckline. There was also a slit on the right side of the dress that started mid-thigh and ran the length of the Rabbit-Faunus' leg. For her footwear, Coco made Velvet wear a pair of black heels. Overall, the Rabbit-Faunus looked well... downright _sexy_.

"I _really_ wanna check out these art exhibits!" Velvet exclaimed, but then she sighed. "but we have to go to the event upstairs..."

The fashionista simply chuckled as she led the girl towards the stairway. "You'll have plenty of time to look at the exhibits when you get accepted here, Velv."

Velvet let out a little bashful laugh at Coco's statement, and playfully nudged her shoulder. "Jeez..."

"Enough of this adorable flirting!" May suddenly exclaimed, effectively ruining the brown-haired duo's moment. "Lets go and show the Remnant Arts alumni what we're made of!"

"May, do you have to be so loud?" Dew interjected, rather embarrassingly. "People are _staring._ "

"Let them stare!"

"Oh good lord..." Nebula muttered under her breath.

Coco and Velvet shared a mildly entertained look, and giggled at the three womens antics.

The fashionista quickly pecked the Faunus girl's cheek, and smiled down at her. "You ready?"

Velvet nodded with determination.

"Hell yeah."

* * *

 **This chapter was originally like 8,000 words but then I decided to split it in half and make it a two-part chapter thing xD This, along with the second part, are gonna be pretty 'Coco-development'/Crosshares heavy soooooo... sorrynotsorry.**

 **Regardless, I hope you guys are still enjoying the story :)**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	41. Chapter 41

**D-D-Double Update!**

* * *

 _Oh Hell NO._

Velvet resisted the urge to dig her heel into a Remnant Arts student's foot when they tried to flirt with Coco. Unfortunately, she couldn't act on this desire because they were currently engaged with a small group of students and Alumni from the institute. In particular, they were all discussing their favourite art forms and the like. So instead of verbally telling the boy to back off, the Rabbit-Faunus casually snaked an arm around the fashionista's waist, which in turn caused the said fashionista to put an arm around Velvet's shoulder.

The boy seemed to get the message, and promptly stopped his advances towards the brown-haired girl.

Suddenly, Velvet felt Coco's lips brush against one of her Faunus ears. "Did you know that you are absolutely adorable when you get jealous?"

The Rabbit-Faunus simply giggled in response to Coco's statement, and leaned into the girl's side as she listened intently to the photography Alumni that they were speaking with. He was a Gazelle-Faunus that did travel photography, and he was telling them about the most recent venture he had in the deserts of Vacuo - one of which actually involved some _Grimm_. At a point in their conversation, the Faunus man actually whipped out his camera and showed Velvet some of the shots that he took.

"I've heard a lot about you from the Headmaster, Ms. Scarlatina! All good things, of course." the photographer exclaimed, causing some of the other students to regard her with slight interest.

Velvet, on the other hand, jumped suddenly from being addressed but then smiled at the Faunus man. "Oh have you?" she then chuckled nervously. "He only saw a couple of glam shots that I took, but I'm glad that I've made an impression."

The Gazelle-Faunus hummed. "Well I do hope that you decide to apply to Remnant Arts. I start my teaching career in this institute within the upcoming year, and I would _love_ to see your work myself."

"When I do get accepted, then I will gladly show you some of my work."

The Faunus man laughed. "Oh she's _confident_! I like it!"

 _Ding! Ding! Ding!_

The sound of cutlery tapping against a wine glass suddenly ripped across the large Banquet Hall. In mere seconds, all of the guests hushed; with both Velvet and the Faunus man politely following suit. When she turned towards the source of the sound, Velvet was met with the image of the Remnant Arts Headmaster standing in the middle of what seemed to be a stage at the far side of the Banquet Hall.

She felt Coco's grip on her shoulder tighten ever so slightly when they caught sight of Maxwell. On instinct, Velvet reached up and stroked the back of the fashionista's hand in an attempt to get her to relax. Soon, she could sense the tension slowly, but surely, leaving Coco's body.

However, the Rabbit-Faunus' brows rose in surprise when she actually focused on the man standing on the stage.

She wasn't caught off guard by the man himself, but rather his apparel.

He was literally wearing the same thing as Coco, with the exception of his dress shirt.

Maxwell sported a white-collared shirt underneath his dark velvet tux jacket, unlike his daughter who wore a black one. The fact that the fashionista was also the _spitting-image_ of the brown-haired man made this whole situation even more so surreal than it already appeared to be.

 _Like Father, like daughter... I guess._

Suddenly, the man cleared his throat to capture the attention of a few hushed voices that were still faintly speaking within the Banquet Hall. When he was finally met with complete silence, he let out a small, satisfied smile and opened his mouth to speak.

"I would like to formally thank you all for attending this Social Gathering." The Headmaster began. "As I am aware of your very busy schedules, I simply cannot begin to express the gratitude that I feel from you all taking your time to be here. It fills me with an immense amount of pride to see how much my previous students have grown after graduating from the institute." He then chuckled, "and it pleases me to know how involved and invested my current students are in progressing their career in the Arts."

Shortly, he began scanning the room and focused his attention to a certain group of people.

That group of people being: Velvet and the other students from Beacon Academy.

A welcoming smile graced the man's lips. "Of course, that also includes all of my potential, prospective students from Beacon Academy too."

At that, the Rabbit-Faunus could hear May 'whoop!' in pride, which in turn elicited some good-natured laughs.

Even Maxwell himself chuckled in response to May's exclamation. "Hopefully you will be able to transfer that school pride to my Institute as well." He playfully quipped. Again, another round of laughter went around the room.

As the laughter died down, the man on the stage simply raised his glass.

"So let me finish this spiel with a toast!"

Everyone followed the man's actions, and raised their glasses (if they had one). Both Coco and Velvet simply regarded Maxwell's toast with polite smiles - well, Velvet had smiled. Coco, on the other hand, held an unreadable expression as he spoke.

"I dedicate this toast to the students, to the ones who have the future of the arts in their very hands!" the man bellowed. "May the creativity in your hearts scorch this dull world in a blaze of colour! Cheers!"

Suddenly, the Banquet Hall had filled with a deafening roar of applause. The sound of glasses _clinking!_ together started to assault the Rabbit-Faunus' ears, and amicable exclamations of praise were said towards Maxwell's words.

Once the excitement from the toast subsided, all of the guests returned to what they were doing before the Headmaster captured their attention.

"Huh..." Coco thoughtfully let out. "So he sounds like... that."

Velvet arched a brow at the fashionista's, rather strange, observation. But then she remembered that the man who had spoke was Coco's estranged father. So, if she felt a little off put or even _lost_ at the moment, Velvet couldn't really blame her.

As she directed her gaze back to the brunette, she was met with the girl staring off into the distance. She couldn't even imagine what was going through the fashionista's mind right now. Did Coco care that her father was there? Did she have questions for him? Did she even want to _talk_ to him?

Soon, The Rabbit-Faunus found herself voicing these questions out loud.

"Hey," Velvet softly called out, jolting the fashionista back to reality. "what's going on in that head of yours?"

At first, it seemed like Coco was going to brush Velvet's concern off... but then she sighed heavily and answered the Rabbit-Faunus truthfully. "There's... a lot going on inside my head right now." Coco stated as she chuckled humourlessly, "I honestly thought that I could go on with this night without so much as thinking about him. Hell, I've been doing that since I was a child. But now that he's here, _literally_ right in front of me, I just-" she paused, and began to fidget with the caramel locks in her hair. "I have _so many_ questions."

Velvet gently lifted a hand to caress the fashionista's cheek, and offered her an encouraging smile. "Why don't you go and ask him?"

Coco stared down at her for a moment, and sighed. "What if I don't like what I've found out?"

The brunette's voice was so uncharacteristically small and unsure that it tugged at Velvet's heart.

"Then I'll be here to help you work out how you feel." She replied instantly. "I know I can't do anything about your father and what he might say to you... but I will be here for you to help you figure things out. I'm not going anywhere, Coco."

For a moment, the brown-haired duo simply stood there and gazed at each other. But as they silently stared, Velvet could sense that some kind of switch seemed to flip within the brunette. She could practically see the determination slowly make its way into her expression.

The fashionista took in a deep breath, and then let it out.

"Alright. I'll go talk to him."

Velvet nodded in approval to the Coco's decision, and wrapped her in a hug.

"Call me if you need anything, okay? I'll be right here."

"You promise?"

Velvet simply pulled back to give Coco a chaste kiss.

"I promise."

* * *

After parting ways with Velvet, Coco strode across the Banquet Hall with newfound determination.

Despite the courage that she gained from talking to the Rabbit-Faunus, she could feel her footsteps getting progressively heavier as she got closer to her destination. Soon, Coco could see the Headmaster in her line of sight and her bravado started to waver. She honestly would've turned around (to regroup), but then she caught the man's gaze.

Recognition immediately entered the brown-haired man's expression, and he stared at her with apprehensive surprise. Coco saw that he was speaking with another professor, but his gaze would flit back to her every once in a while, like he was waiting for her to approach him.

Coco simply stared back at him with a blank expression. Her feet seemed to be rooted to the ground, and her mind began to spiral at a hundred miles an hour. She didn't start to panic, but she did feel herself second-guessing her decision of speaking with the man. How would she even _start_ a conversation with him? He already appeared to be preoccupied with another person at the moment. So maybe should try again later? Or... never.

Just as she finished that thought, the brown-haired man swiftly ended his discussion with the professor he was with. The said professor simply bid him a farewell, and walked away to mingle with the other guests in the Banquet Hall.

Both of them stood in their respective spots, blatantly staring at each other for a couple of moments. She watched as the man straightened out his tux jacket, and then she tensed up when he decided to make the first move. He began walking towards her, making sure to keep eye contact to convey to Coco that it was _her_ that he was going to speak with.

 _I guess I'm doing this now, rather than never._

When he finally made it in front of Coco, he made sure to stand a respectable distance away. He was just close enough to make it obvious that they were interacting with each other.

"Ah- Hello..." Maxwell began apprehensively, but then he trailed off. An awkward tension filled the air between them, and the conversation (although it barely started) kind of... died.

Coco probably wasn't helping at all with how blatantly she was staring at him, but _what else_ was she supposed to do!? Her estranged _father_ literally just tried to strike up a casual conversation with her. And when she stood there in front of him, she could really tell how much she took after the man.

She was literally a carbon copy of her father.

 _Maybe that's why I didn't see Juliette that much while I was growing up...I probably reminded her too much of him._

The fashionista inwardly shook her head. There was no point in indulging in rather depressing thoughts about her mother's absence during her childhood. Instead, she focused her attention back to the man in front of her, and mentally prepared herself.

"H-Hi." Coco responded, rather awkwardly. She then wracked her brain to think of something else to say. "Er, you're institute is rather nice..."

 _I guess that's a start._

"Right, uh, thank you."

It seemed like their conversation was going to enter another awkward lull, but then Maxwell let out a sound that was akin to an annoyed grunt. Coco could clearly see that his frustration was directed at himself. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath and exhaled sharply. When the man opened his eyes again, he gazed at the fashionista with resolve.

"I'm assuming that you didn't just want to talk to me about my institute, Coco."

Coco quirked a brow at how straight-to-the-point Maxwell was acting, but nevertheless appreciated it. This was certainly better than dragging out their conversation with awkward remarks about irrelevant, and random topics. And honestly? She wanted this interaction to be finished as soon as possible.

"You're not wrong." She replied truthfully. "I do want to talk to you about... a lot. But could we go somewhere more private?"

"Of course. Let's head on over to my office."

He then motioned for Coco to follow him, and she did just that.

As they walked across the Banquet Hall, the fashionista noticed that they gained quite a speculative crowd. The guests would curiously send them a glance, but none were brave enough to actually go up and question who she was and what her relation to Maxwell seemed to be. Judging by the small amount of the scandalized gazes that Coco received, she had a feeling that _some_ of the guests were able to put two-and-two together.

When they finally left the confines of the venue, the brown-haired man began to lead them into a spacious and, rather long, hallway. At the end of the hall, Coco could see a pair of double doors that she assumed were the doors to Maxwell's office. She could also see a number of paintings and photographs riddled along the walls. The sound of their footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as they walked. The fashionista entertained the idea of engaging in small-talk to fill in the gap of silence, but she decided against it.

Before she knew it, they were in front of the man's office.

He pushed one of the oak-wood doors open, and motioned Coco to walk in. She muttered a small 'thanks' as he held the door open for her, but when she actually stepped foot into his office she was... surprised by what she found.

She honestly expected his office to be a lot more extravagant or 'artsy.'

Instead, she was met with a decently sized room that looked like any other old study. With the exception of the fact that there were a number of vintage, pop-culture memorabilia hanging on the walls. Coco actually recognized some of the pictures and posters from a couple of movies that she was a fan of herself - unsurprisingly, they were all horror-themed. However, what immediately caught her eye were the plethora of DVD's and VHS Tapes stacked within the shelves that were placed behind the man's desk.

Her feet automatically brought her to the shelves, and she began scrutinizing its contents.

 _Oh my gosh he even has the limited edition sidestory series about one of the slasher killers!_

"How in _Remnant_ did you manage to get the entire movie series about Cutthroat Karl's back story?!"

Maxwell was momentarily taken aback by Coco's very apparent enthusiasm for cult classic horror movies. But then an entertained gleam entered his eyes, and he happily indulged the girl's fascination. He walked up to the shelves and situated himself next to her, keeping his gaze on the movie tapes.

"The director, well his _son_ , is a good friend of mine." he answered simply. "he tends to give me special deals and early releases on certain movies because he knows that I'm a huge fan of this kind of stuff."

"How lucky..."

Maxwell hummed thoughtfully, "So you're a horror movie buff, too?"

"Yeah, ever since I was a child."

"What got you interested in them? I don't imagine those types of movies being popular with your generation..."

Coco furrowed her brows, and carefully thought about how she was going to answer that question. She knew that regardless of what she said, the topic would end up bleeding into the main reason as to why she was even speaking with the man at the moment.

"I found your old horror movie collection while I snooping around the house when I was a kid. I believe I was seven at the time." the fashionista finally answered. "When I started to watch them, I couldn't seem to stop."

Her words seem to hang in the air for a while. She briefly flitted her gaze to the man next to her, and found that he was struggling to find something to say. Even Coco herself didn't know how they should've directed the conversation to the rather _Grimm-sized_ elephant in the room.

Swallowing thickly, Coco decided to throw caution to the wind and just went on with it.

"Why-" the brunette began, but immediately cleared her throat. For some reason, her voice came out shakily. She took in a deep breath, and let it out to calm her nerves.

"Why did you leave?"

She could sense in her periphery that Maxwell whipped his gaze towards her, but she refused to meet his eyes. Instead, she stared hard at the movie tapes in front of her; silently and patiently waiting for the man to explain himself.

"I..." Maxwell tried to speak, and then he let out weary sigh. "I don't even know where to start."

"Just start _somewhere_." Coco suggested, well moreso demanded. "But I want you to know that I'm not having this discussion with you with the intent of forgiveness." she continued on, still not meeting his gaze. "At least I know that's not going to happen _right now_... I just want answers, Maxwell. Something like forgiveness might be a possibility for the future."

"That's... understandable." the brown-haired man replied evenly.

The fashionista stayed quiet as a cue for the man to go on.

She heard him audibly gulp, and she listened to him as he got ready to speak.

"Back then, Juliette and I were so young... and extremely ambitious." Maxwell slowly began as he attempted to gather his thoughts. "We firmly believed that we had the world in our hands, and that we were going to make a meaningful impact in the world of Fashion Arts. However, we were utterly naive to the mountain of _rejection_ that awaited us once we even tried to step into that world."

"You're mother and I, we are artists - we're creators." he continued on. "regardless of the rejection and ridicule that we received, we would _always_ keep on creating content and art. Then, along came our greatest creation ever made..." Maxwell trailed off. Again, Coco could sense that his gaze fell back on her, but she still refused to meet his eyes.

"And it was you, Coco."

The fashionista furrowed her brows when he stated those words like it was a fact. If it were true, then _both_ Maxwell and Juliette were doing a resoundingly shitty job of making it seem like it. Regardless of the bitterness growing within her chest, the brunette simply nodded slowly to let the man continue on.

"You gave us inspiration; you were our sweet little muse." Maxwell continued fondly. She could feel the smile in his voice. "Juliette absolutely _adored_ you. In fact, she would constantly use you as a 'good luck charm' whenever she went off to pitch a fashion line to a new designer. Then one day, I guess your luck actually worked for her because she finally landed a major deal."

"Juliette's first fashion line got recognized by a world-renown designer and she instantly blew up." he went on. "I was so proud and happy for her when it all started; just watching her make her big break filled me up with an immeasurable amount of pride."

Soon, Coco could feel the man's mood darkening as he continued on to the next part of his explanation.

"But then people would start to _talk._ " Maxwell practically spat. "they would make underhanded remarks about my failure and compare it to your mother's success, and I could slowly _feel myself_ secretly displacing resentment towards her." he then chuckled humourlessly. "It can be _difficult_ to not get jealous or envious of people who get more recognition than you; especially if you're extremely passionate about what you're doing but are facing countless rejections."

"I could feel myself _believing_ that I wasn't good enough for her..." Maxwell's voice was ridden with guilt as he spoke. "My inferiority got the best of me and it didn't take long until I actually convinced myself that it would be best if I wasn't a part of her- no, _your_ lives anymore."

Coco was almost at her wits end when she heard him say that last sentence. While he spoke, the fashionista could feel her anger rising with each and every pathetic excuse he tried to come up with. She simply closed her eyes, and let out a shaky breath.

"So you left because-"

"Because I was-" Maxwell interrupted, and then sighed wryly.

"Because I _am_ weak." he finally answered. "If you were expecting a valid reason for what I did... there is none. Coco, there's no excuse."

She let his words hang in the air for a moment. A venomous remark was at the tip of her tongue, but then she quickly decided not to even bother with it. There was no point in actively _hating_ him now - seeing that he was _still_ a complete stranger. In the back of her mind, she appreciated that he was being honest with her. However, that didn't deter from the fact that his actions were undeniably _pathetic._

Initially, she came to talk with the man with intentions of _possibly_ _starting_ the process of forgiveness.

But now...

Coco had a feeling that Maxwell was the wrong parent that she should forgive.

She was glad that the only thing she had in common with the man in front of her were their love for horror movies and their physical features. If she even had an _ounce_ of the man's fickle personality, then she was going to have to make some major changes.

Instead of responding to his words, Coco simply turned around and began to exit his office. She didn't know if she could even _handle_ being in the same room as him. Just as she reached the oak-wood doors, she paused and finally looked him in the eye. He stiffened at her piercing gaze, but then something in Coco's expression caused him to already accept what she was going to say.

"Goodbye, Maxwell."

There was an explicit air of finality laced within her words.

She wanted to make it clear that this was going to be the last time she was going to see him. A small part of her knew that their paths were going to cross again in the future, but it wasn't going to happen because she _wanted_ itto.

Maxwell simply nodded in understanding, and responded to Coco's farewell.

"Goodbye, Coco."

* * *

 **Welp... that was a chapter!**

 **Originally I was going to make Coco reconcile with her father but then I was like... nahhh. Sometimes people kind of just... suck? Idk, I thought it'd be a little bit more realistic this way. At least, that perspective/reasoning made sense to me while I was writing it.**

 **Hopefully the fic isn't getting too choppy with all the different perspectives/character 'arcs' that I'm incorporating into it! And as always, your feedback is welcomed!**

 **Also, did anyone else see the new ep for RWBY Vol. 6? I am shook.**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	42. Chapter 42

**Here's an update for you all!**

 **Hope everyone's year is going splendidly. Enjoy the chap, dear readers! Also, there's an important announcement at the end of the chapter :P**

* * *

Blake tried her hardest to concentrate on their robust Professor's lecture - really, she did. But the obscure tangents that Professor Port would go off on were just too hard to follow. So soon, she found herself observing the people around her out of pure curiosity and boredom.

As she scanned the room, she could pick out a couple of familiar faces.

One of which was Coco, who was sitting at least two rows ahead of her with no one other than Velvet.

A brief wave of concern washed over the Cat-Faunus as she watched the girl from behind. Ever since Coco came back from the social event at Remnant Arts, she seemed to be a little... out of it. Both Blake and Weiss immediately took notice of their friend's change in demeanour when they saw her in the morning, but they both silently agreed to not ask about what happened last night. At least, not right at this moment.

She couldn't exactly peg the main emotion or feeling that the brunette was projecting, but she knew that the girl obviously had a lot going on in her mind.

Suddenly, her gaze connected with Velvet's. Blake's eyes widened marginally in surprise, but then she realized that she was staring pretty blatantly at her friend. The Rabbit-Faunus could probably sense Blake's eyes directed towards her general area, which caused her to turn her head in curiosity to address her.

The Cat-Faunus tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, and briefly flitted her gaze towards the back of Coco's head as a silent question to the Rabbit-Faunus. The said Rabbit-Faunus followed her gaze, and nodded in understanding when she caught onto what Blake was curious about. She then watched as Velvet simply replied by offering her a timid, but reassuring smile.

Blake nodded back in acceptance to Velvet's silent answer, and the brown-haired Faunus took that as a cue to turn back around.

 _They probably talked about what happened to her last night..._

Regardless, Blake made a mental note of checking on Coco later on during the day.

"If Professor Port makes _one more_ remark about his 'Glory Day's' then I'm going to implode..." a certain Schnee grumbled under her breath.

Intrigued, the Cat-Faunus directed her gaze to the grumpy girl to her left. To her surprise, Weiss was actually _struggling_ to fight off the utterly bored glaze that threatened to enter her eyes. But then the girl's eyes travelled to a different part of the lecture hall, and soon, an expression of exasperated endearment came across her facial expression.

Blake followed her gaze in curiosity, and noted with amusement that she was staring at no one other than Ruby Rose. Incidentally, the young redhead was _not_ paying attention to the lecture and playing tic-tac-toe with a familiar, _boisterous_ strawberry blonde.

Suddenly, Weiss let out a huff.

Which caused Blake to snort.

"Weiss... you only need to wait _five more days_." The Cat-Faunus deadpanned.

"I know that!" Weiss whisper-hissed back.

"Then why are you acting as if you're waiting _five years_?"

"I am _not_!"

"You totally are." a certain blonde's amused voice chimed in from the Cat-Faunus' right side. "well, at least I know _Ruby_ is... the dork's driving everyone at home _nuts_ with her whining."

Blake stifled a giggle at the last part that her blonde girlfriend grumbled. Weiss, on the other hand, scoffed indignantly and crossed her arms.

"I haven't been _whining_ about anything."

"But you've been _sulking_." Blake quipped, her grin growing as she caught a glimpse of the white-haired girl's embarrassed expression. "Mom's actually worried that you might develop a little rain cloud over your head from all the moping you've been doing around the house."

Weiss opted to roll her eyes instead of haughtily refuting Blake's words. The Cat-Faunus' ears twitched when she heard the white-haired girl mumble something unintelligible under her breath.

Blake chuckled at her cranky friend's antics, and then returned her attention back to their 'larger-than-life' professor. This time around he was actually speaking to the class about relevant information regarding Merlot's Theory of Dust. But at least sixty percent of the students in the lecture hall had already zoned out from his _irrelevant_ recollection of his 'Golden Days' at Beacon. In the back of her mind, she wondered how half of the student body even passed this man's course considering his seemingly inefficient teaching style.

She didn't dwell on that thought for too long because soon, she felt a weight rest itself on her right shoulder.

Quirking a brow, Blake moved her head slightly to the side to look down at the blonde who was using her as a pillow. She could feel the corner of her lips twitch upwards when she saw that Yang had fallen asleep. Rather than disturbing the girl's slumber, the dark-haired Faunus decided to let her be. It wasn't like Yang was diverting her attention away from the lesson, and if the Faunus girl was being honest with herself... It actually felt kinda nice.

So for a while, Blake stayed in that position with her blonde girlfriend.

That is, until the lunch bell went off to signify the end of the lecture.

Blake's ears were suddenly assaulted by the sound of chairs _screeching!_ against the ground as the rest of the students dragged them to get out of the desks. Surprisingly enough, the blonde at her shoulder didn't seem to be disturbed in the slightest by the commotion going on around her. Seeing as she didn't make a move to remove herself from Blake's side. Conflicted, the Cat-Faunus wondered what the best course of action would be to wake the girl up. But for some reason, she was having difficulties with actually _starting_ the feat.

 _Yang just looks so peaceful... and cute._

"Just wake the brute up, Blake."

"You know I can't just do that, Weiss."

The former heiress quirked an amused brow at that, and a playful glint entered her eyes. "Then allow _me_ to do the honour."

Blake dramatically whipped her gaze towards the girl on her left. "You will do no such thing."

Before she could even let Weiss execute whatever it was she was going to do to wake the slumbering girl up, Blake began to nudge the blonde's temple with her cheek. Completely ignoring the baffled but utterly amused expression emanating from the white-haired girl next to her, the Cat-Faunus continued to nuzzle against Yang's temple until the girl started to wake.

"Hey..." Blake cooed, "wake up, sleeping beauty."

Yang let out a yawn, and smiled dopily at her. "Heh... I got you to nuzzle me again."

"What do you mean 'I got you to-'" Blake narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "Were you even _asleep_?"

It looked like Yang was about to give the Cat-Faunus an excuse, but then she decided to smile sheepishly at her. Slowly, but surely, a furious blush started to make its way onto Blake's face because she totally just _nuzzled_ Yang in public. She fought the urge to glower at Weiss, who was incidentally enjoying herself thoroughly with this entire situation. A wicked smirk plastered itself on the white-haired girl's lips, and she was trying (and failing miserably) to stifle the giggles that tried to erupt from her chest.

Giving Yang one last baleful look, Blake shot up from her desk and made her way out of the lecture hall.

 _"Wait, Blakeeey!"_ she heard her insufferable girlfriend call out.

Blake inwardly face palmed.

 _I can't believe I nuzzled her in public...Oh my God this is ridiculous!_

* * *

 _Awww this SUCKS_!

Ruby tried her _very best_ to not stare longingly at her super beautiful, white-haired girlfriend sitting across the cafeteria. However, the said white-haired girl's super beautifulness was kind of making it really hard for Ruby to complete this supposedly _simple task_. But how could she _not stare?!_ Weiss was so super! And beautiful!

Soon, the hyperactive redhead began voicing her displeasure with her situation out loud.

"Awww this _sucks_!"

A certain blonde boy sitting to the redhead's left chuckled and shook his head at her antics. "Alright, Ruby... I get that being away from your girlfriend sucks but now you're starting to hurt our feelings." he playfully droned. "I mean, we can't be _that dreadful_ to hang out with..."

"Friend Ruby, is that true?" another voice chimed in, with genuine worry laced within her tone. "Are we causing you strife?"

Ruby's eyes widened in panic and, after sending Jaune a baleful look, she turned to her left and backtracked on her words. Well, the words that Jaune put in her mouth. "N-No! Penny, if anything you guys are making this whole thing a lot more better for me!" she exclaimed while frantically waving her arms at the girl.

Penny nodded in acceptance to her response, but then an expression of confusion etched its way onto her face. The ginger tilted her head ever so slightly to the right, and quirked a brow at Ruby. "Then what is it that 'sucks,' Ruby?"

The girl in question simply laughed awkwardly at her friend's curiosity, and scratched the back of her head. For the most part, the only people who knew about what the 'whole plan' with Jacques were Weiss, Viktoria, Winter, the Belladonna's (along with Sienna), and Ruby's own family too. All of them came to the agreement that the less people knew about what they were doing, the better.

Unfortunately, a part of their ruse involved Ruby and Weiss acting like they weren't together anymore; which meant that she had to be away from the white-haired girl for the time being. Which also _sucked_. Big time.

So when the redhead suddenly began to spend all of her time with her friends from her department rather than her girlfriend, those said department friends were rightfully confused. Both Penny and Jaune initially questioned her about the change, but Ruby would only give them ambiguous answers. Well, instead of being 'ambiguous,' Ruby answered them by saying that it was a 'super top-secret, confidential, need-to-know basis' reason. Thankfully, her friends decided not to press her on it, and simply accepted the fact that she was hanging around them more often. They were cool like that.

"Meh, don't worry about it Penny." Jaune stated dismissively, "Rubes is probably bummed because she can't kiss her _girlfr-OUCH!_ Did you just throw a baby carrot at me?!"

Ruby raspberried at the blonde boy, and crossed her arms. "Yes I did just throw a baby carrot at you." she replied cheekily. "Also: shut your mouth! Remember what I said about this whole situation being-"

"a super top-secret, confidential, need-to-know basis thing?" Jaune interrupted dryly, "Yeah. But if I have to hear the phrase 'this _sucks'_ one more time, I'm going to go bonkers."

"But this _does suck!_ " Ruby cried out dramatically. For good measure, she turned to her friend on her right for support. "Penny, wouldn't you think so too?"

"Think what?" Penny retorted with a genuinely confused expression plastered on her face. For a moment, Ruby thought that her friend wasn't listening to their conversation, but when she saw that Penny was wearing her signature smile of curiosity, she had a feeling that the girl truly didn't understand what was going on.

So she decided to rephrase the question, and giggled at her friend. "Wouldn't _you_ be a little sad if you couldn't kiss the person you like?"

Penny hummed in thought. "I guess?"

"You _guess?_ "

The other girl shrugged. "I've never felt the urge to participate in such activities with another person."

"huh? ' _such activities?_ ' you mean-?" Ruby cut herself off, and stared with genuine curiosity at Penny. "you've never wanted to be with someone like the way that I am with Weiss?"

Penny bobbed her head from side-to-side as if she were contemplating her answer, and finally smiled at the redhead. "Nope!"

 _Okay maybe asking Penny wasn't the best idea_... _and I totally respect and accept whatever the heck it was that she just revealed to us and if anyone tries to make her feel bad about it, I'll beat them into a pulp-_ _and now I'm digressing from the point! Which was-!_

" _But..._ " her ginger friend continued on, completely halting Ruby's train of thought. "If I wasn't allowed to spend time with you and Jaune, then I think that would suck very much!"

Ruby resisted the urge to outright gush at Penny's adorable proclamation, and immediately wrapped her arms around both of her friends shoulders. Forcing them into some kind of pseudo group hug. Penny immediately accepted the seemingly random display of affection with a beaming smile. Jaune, on the other hand, also accepted the gesture albeit with confusion.

"I think that would suck too!" Ruby exclaimed.

Penny giggled, "Did my answer help make you feel better, friend Ruby?"

"Yeah!" she answered thoughtlessly.

 _Wait, what was I upset about again...?_

Suddenly, the reality of her _sucky_ situation came crashing down on her once more. She promptly removed her arms from her friends shoulders, and then dramatically sprawled the upper half of her body on the cafeteria table in front of them. The redhead felt the boy on her left ruffle the back of her head in playful exasperation, while Penny offered her a couple pats on her right shoulder as a comfort measure.

Rather than continuing on with her incessant whining, Ruby just opted to move her head to the side to stare on at Weiss and the others. From where she was lying on the table, she could see that the white-haired girl was engaged in a conversation with her big sister; which caused her to furrow her brows. It seemed like the interaction was pretty tense, but then Weiss let out a small smile, while Yang barked out a laugh. The brown-haired duo with them joined in on their laughter, and soon, Ruby could see Blake walk up to the table with a tray of food.

Ruby inwardly pouted.

 _Awww... I wonder what they're talking about..._

* * *

Yang nodded in understanding as Coco finished telling their friend group about what went down at the Remnant Arts social gathering. She could truly empathize with what the brunette was going through, seeing as she was kind of in the same position herself about a decade ago. So if Coco were secretly _pissed_ about the whole ordeal, then Yang couldn't blame her.

 _I mean... when Ma showed up out of the blue, I tore her a new one._

But that was ten years ago. When she was a _kid._

Coco, on the other hand, was basically a grown woman who had the time to stew in her feelings about her estranged father while she grew up. And from the looks of it, Yang could tell that the brunette had given up on the thought of reconciling with the man.

Either way, the blonde felt compelled to let her know that she wasn't alone.

"That sounds rough..." Yang began, causing the brunette to turn to her in mild amusement (mostly because of how the blonde kind of understated her situation with the way she phrased her words). But then she met the girl's gaze with empathy, and offered her a lopsided smile. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm here." she chuckled awkwardly. "I don't know if Velv told you the details about my family... but I can relate."

Yang watched as the girl's eyes widen marginally in surprise. Nevertheless, the fashionista returned the grin and nodded towards her. "Thanks, Yang. I actually might take you up on that." when she finished her statement, Coco glanced at Velvet; who simply gazed back at her in approval. Yang couldn't really tell what was going on in their silent conversation, but she had a feeling that they already talked about all of this beforehand.

Suddenly, Yang felt a certain someone peck her right cheek. She turned to face the Cat-Faunus with an elated grin. "What was that for?"

Blake simply hummed as she absentmindedly rubbed small circles at the small of Yang's back. "Nothing really. Just for you being... you."

All Yang could do in response to the dark-haired girl's words was smile like a big dork.

She would have said something back to Blake... if it weren't for the monstrous _growl_ that came from the Faunus girl's stomach. Stifling a giggle, Yang stared as Blake stood up with a small blush adorning her cheeks.

The Faunus girl coughed into her hand. "I, er... I'm gonna go get some food from the food stations."

Before anyone could even make a remark to the girl, she had already made a beeline towards the food stations in the mess hall. Yang's gaze followed the dark-haired girl for a bit until it fell on her little sister, who was sitting across the mess hall with her friends.

Those friends being: Penny and Jaune.

It seemed like Ruby was straight up _whining_ to the poor boy and girl. Penny, on one hand, looked like she couldn't really understand what Ruby was upset about at all, but nevertheless offered the redhead a sympathetic smile. Jaune, on the other hand, held an exasperated expression that Yang used herself whenever Ruby would start talking about how much ' _it sucked being away from Weiss!_ '

Yang inwardly shook her head at her little sister's dramatics.

She then directed her eyes at the Schnee girl in front of her, and thoughtfully furrowed her brows.

Ruby was crazy about the girl (for reasons Yang didn't really know). It wasn't like the blonde _didn't_ like Weiss. If anything, she was rather fond of the Schnee, and she was stoked that the girl made Ruby so unbelievably happy. But that in itself also caused the blonde to worry for her sister. She could tell that Ruby felt _a lot_ of her happiness from being with Weiss. Which was great! However, that also meant that Weiss had the power to take that happiness away from the redhead. Which was a hypothetical thought that literally got Yang's blood boiling.

She knew that Weiss would never hurt Ruby.

But still... she just wanted to make sure.

 _Heh... it isn't every day that I get to use 'scary big sister' mode on someone! Might as well make use of it now._

Yang steeled her resolve, and hardened her expression as she stared at the unsuspecting Schnee before her. From her periphery, she could sense that both Coco and Velvet were shooting her curious glances, but she ignored them. Instead, she opened her mouth to address the white-haired girl sitting across the table.

"Weiss."

The blonde was immediately met with the girl's sharp gaze. Weiss simply quirked a brow at her, undoubtedly confused by the downright _threatening_ tone that Yang was using.

"Yes, Yang?" Weiss answered her evenly.

For a brief moment, Yang contemplated easing into the discussion of treating her little sister right. But then she quickly decided ' _screw it, that's not my style,'_ and went straight to the point. She was also kind of eager to see how the white-haired girl would react to her protectiveness over Ruby. If the Schnee backed down just by a little intimidation from Yang, then she didn't want such a weak-willed girl to be with her sister. However, she had a feeling that Weiss wasn't such a person.

"If you, for whatever reason, _ever_ hurt Ruby-"

"I would never do that and you know it." Weiss immediately interrupted. "where is this coming from?"

An amused, and satisfied smile threatened to make its way onto Yang's face. But she pushed the expression down, and continued to pseudo-glower at the girl.

" _Regardless_..." Yang growled, ignoring Weiss' question. "If I ever find out that my little sister is hurt or unhappy because of _you_ then..."

 _SLAM!_

Everyone flinched at the sound of the blonde's prosthetic fist hitting the table. Yang didn't even need to look down to know that she made a hefty dent on the table's surface.

"Well... you get the idea." the blonde finished.

She quietly observed Weiss' reaction to the feat. For a brief moment, a bewildered expression entered the girl's face but it left as soon as it came. The girl's expression was then replaced with a blank stare and she slowly nodded.

"Understood."

The blonde was about to make a remark about Weiss' acceptance to her mini-threat, but then something in the white-haired girl's eyes caused her to _freeze._ Weiss' gaze immediately hardened, and Yang had to fight the shudder that threatened to make its way down her spine as the Schnee downright _glared_ at her. She would've made a pun about how _cold_ Weiss' eyes were, but she had a feeling that making a joke about the girl's _icy_ demeanour would be inappropriate at the moment.

So instead, Yang audibly gulped.

"Let me return that sentiment, too."

Yang raised her brows. "W-Wha?"

"If _I_ ever find out that Blake has so much as _cried_ over you, well..." Weiss offered Yang the most threatening smile she had ever seen. This time around, the blonde actually shuddered at the sight. It was _freaking scary_. "I may not be able to place dents on hard surfaces with my own hands..." Weiss continued on, "but I am _completely capable_ of making sure that the authorities _never_ find you if you 'mysteriously' go missing."

Yang's dropped her jaw in incredulousness at the white-haired girl's threat.

She would have scoffed disbelievingly, but as she continued to stare at Weiss, she came to the realization that the girl _wasn't kidding_.

 _Yeesh... Rubes sure knows how to pick 'em._

Mimicking Yang's tone from a few minutes ago, Weiss smirked at her. "Do you get the idea?"

Without meaning to, the blonde immediately barked out a hearty laugh. She didn't mean anything rude by it, but seeing how gutsy Weiss could be, she couldn't help but find her courage or bravado entertaining.

It was honestly the first time someone actually had the nerve to stand up to Yang when she got protective over her sister (and Velvet, for that matter).

Soon, she could see the corner's of Weiss' lips twitch upwards, and then they collapsed into a fit of giggles. Even Velv and Coco joined in on the moment too. Shortly after, Blake rejoined their group with a mountain-size amount of food on her cafeteria tray. The Cat-Faunus quirked an amused brow at their group of friends, but nonetheless took her seat at the blonde's right.

"What's so funn-"

 _CRASH!_

Everyone's head whipped at the rather loud commotion that was occurring at the other side of the mess hall. The entire room went silent. Suddenly, the student body's attention was focused solely on the people who caused such a scene.

Yang's eyes widened in both slight panic and surprise when she saw that Adam Taurus was a part of whatever the hell was going on at the moment. Then her brows furrowed in concern when she found that _Ilia_ was involved in the ordeal somehow too. She could see that the Chameleon-Faunus was holding a hand to her bloodied nose, and that she was momentarily reeling in pain against a cafeteria table. However, when the adrenaline of the situation seemed to take over the Faunus girl, Yang watched in astonishment as Ilia started to _smile_ at the raging bull-Faunus.

This caused the said raging bull-Faunus to _lose it_ , and he began charging at the girl.

That was when Yang finally noticed all of the _police officers_ surrounding the pair of Faunus. She could also spot the familiar grey hair of their Academy's Headmaster in the mix too.

"What the _fuck_ did you do!?"

* * *

"What the _fuck_ did you do!?"

Blake couldn't help but let out a helpless noise as she watched Adam scream and _charge_ at Ilia.

But in a blink of an eye, the officers surrounding the two Faunus' apprehended Adam and pinned his head against one of the tables. For some foolish reason, the boy kept on struggling against their grip and then started screaming a bunch of expletives towards them.

"What Ilia did was the right thing, Mr. Taurus." Ozpin's calm voice ripped through the air, causing the Bull-Faunus on the table to stop his rage fit. "I believe it goes without saying that your academic career at Beacon Academy has been terminated. Effective immediately."

" _What_!?" Adam snarled, his eyes darting towards the Chameleon-Faunus. "But _she-!_ "

"I am aware of the activities that she has taken part in." their Headmaster swiftly interrupted. "Unfortunately, that's why the officer's are here." he turned to face the Faunus girl, who was still nursing her bloody nose. "My apologies, Ilia. I was hoping they would wait until _after_ your school day but they were insistent on completing this task as soon as possible."

"She's a flight risk." one of the officers reasoned. "Considering her background, we had to take precautions so she wouldn't try to skip town before we got to her."

Ozpin turned to the man who spoke, and gave him a dry look; communicating that he didn't believe the man's explanation for even a second. Even Blake felt a scowl make its way onto her face. It was more than obvious to her, and the other Faunus students in the room, that the cops just wanted to ship Ilia back to Menagerie as soon as possible.

"D-Don't worry about it." Ilia managed to reply between ragged breaths. "I expected as much."

The Cat-Faunus then watched with a heavy heart as one of the officer's made their way in front of the Chameleon-Faunus. Ilia simply levelled her stare with the man clad in blue before her, and heaved a sigh.

"Ilia Amitola..." the man began as he removed the handcuffs from his belt. "for the breaking and entering of the Rose-Branwen's Weapon's Shop, along with the conspiring and planning of the assault of Yang Xiao-Long..." he then paused. Blake could feel the disappointment seep into her own expression as the officer continued on with his statement.

"I hereby place you under arrest."

* * *

 **Y'allll the ball is ROLLIN'!**

 **Okay sooooo I'm gonna announce this now:**

 **Days of Our Lives is nearing its climax (which I'm pretty sure you can guess is Jacques' downfall). With that being said, the fic is relatively close to its end. This fun mf has been going on for like a year and a bit, and it has been an absolute delight for me to write it! Anyways... at this point, I'd say that we have about 10 -12 chapters left of the story (tear tear lol). But let me tell you, they're gonna be a wild 10-12 chapters xD so braaaace yourselves guys!**

 **I hope you guys continue to enjoy it! Please don't hesitate to leave reviews or comments! They're always welcomed :)**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	43. Chapter 43

***inconspicuously slides this chapter to you across a table***

 **Enjoy ~ :P :D**

* * *

As Blake plopped herself onto the living room couch, she tried to make sense of how she felt regarding the events that occurred earlier on in the day. Soon after, she felt a certain Schnee drop unceremoniously onto the seat next to her. And she didn't even need to look at her to know that she felt just as bewildered by whatever the _hell_ was going on in their lives at the moment.

"Ilia got arrested."

Blake snorted at how bluntly the girl put it, but nevertheless replied. "That's right..."

"She's one of the people who destroyed Raven and Summer's store."

"Y-Yeah..." Blake turned a little weary after Weiss stated that fact.

"And she also hurt Yang."

Blake sighed.

"Yeah."

The Cat-Faunus would be lying if she said that she wasn't upset with Ilia for the choices that she made. But that didn't mean that she was going to start blindly _hating_ her. No, if there was a chance in the future that presented itself for Blake to talk to the Chameleon-Faunus, then she was going to take it. She wanted to hear from the other Faunus girl herself what her reasoning was for what she did.

However, with the recent development of Ilia getting arrested (and most likely _deported_ )... Blake didn't know _when_ that chance was going to happen. Hopefully, it would be sooner rather than later, but there really wasn't any way of telling.

 _Those officers were in a hurry to arrest her... they definitely want to ship her off to Menagerie as soon as possible._

Blake's emotions finally started to bubble over, and she released her pent up frustrations in the form of a loud groan. "Augh! I get that we're crazy rich kids that live in a gated community filled with _secrets_ , but do our lives actually have to be _this_ dramatic!?" the Cat-Faunus exclaimed, melodramatically throwing her arms up in the air. Weiss simply regarded her statement with a snort.

"I thought Ilia turned over a new leaf, and changed for the better..."

Weiss stared upwards at the ceiling and frowned in thought. The Faunus girl could sense that her friend was already formulating a rather negative opinion about Ilia. "Sometimes people aren't always what they seem, Blake."

"But I know that, deep down, she's a good person!" Blake argued. "She's just... misguided." She turned her head to face the Schnee, and sighed. "and if we're going to go by that logic, then I could say the same thing about you, Weiss."

The white-haired girl turned her head to the side and silently questioned the Cat-Faunus. Blake carefully gauged Weiss' reaction before answering her, and saw that she was just genuinely curious about what she meant by what she said. There was no anger or indignance in the Schnee's expression; there was just neutrality and a bit of sharpness in the girl's eyes.

Turning her body to fully face the girl next to her, Blake continued on with her explanation. "Weiss... do you remember what you were like about a year ago?"

Almost immediately, Weiss seemed to understand where she was going with this. Her eyes lost its sharp edge, and she let out a sound between a scoff and a sigh. But rather than verbally lashing out at Blake for bringing this up, Weiss simply nodded.

"Oh..." Weiss replied lamely.

"Yeah." Blake grinned good-naturedly, "Oh..."

The Weiss sitting with her now was a completely different person from the girl that she used to be a year ago. Sure, back then, the former heiress wasn't an outright bigot like her father, but she did have a nasty track record when it came to... well, basic human interaction. But seeing as how _a lot_ of people tried to use her in the past, Blake couldn't really blame her for being so guarded and outright abrasive.

Despite the fact that Blake never really interacted with Weiss before her disinheritance, she still basically grew up knowing the girl (or at least knowing _of_ her). Their families kind of ran in the same social circles, and they went to the same educational institutes for most of their lives. So Blake had plenty of time to somewhat get to know the Schnee.

Needless to say, the opinion that the Faunus girl initially had about Weiss wasn't exactly the best. She didn't _hate_ the girl without reason like most people did, but she also wouldn't say that she liked her back then either. However, when Weiss got disowned, all of that changed. Blake actually got to know her after Kali offered her a place in their home.

At first, it was _incredibly awkward_ ; but, why wouldn't it be? At best, both Blake and Weiss were acquaintances at the time.

Regardless, after a considerable amount of convincing from her mom, Blake decided to keep an open mind about the whole ordeal; which was a decision that she would never regret. If she hadn't have given Weiss the chance to just _show her_ how she truly was as a person then Blake wouldn't be as close to the girl as she is right now.

The Faunus girl never had any siblings growing up... but she could confidently say that Weiss was the closest thing to a sister that she ever had.

"Weiss, in the past year you have proven me wrong about how I see you as a person." She offered the girl a genuine smile. "I know now that the actions and ideals of Jacques aren't a reflection of who _you_ are and what _you_ stand for. You're so much more than the Schnee legacy." Her smile started to fade, and then she let out sigh. "Because of that... I want to hold on to the hope that _Ilia_ will prove me wrong. I want to know if she's more than the mistakes that she has made."

"I hope that's something that you can understand..." Blake finished.

All was silent for a moment after the Faunus girl finished speaking. In spite of that fact, Blake knew that the silence wasn't a bad thing. If Weiss truly felt like what Blake said was wrong, then she would waste no time in letting her know it.

"Alright. I see your point." Weiss finally said. "Whatever you decide to do regarding Ilia, I'll support it. If you want to cut her off from your life, then I won't stop you. And if you want to keep her as a friend, I'll at least _try_ to be civil with her. It's your call, Blake."

"Thanks, Weiss."

 _Thud!_

' _ahh shit!_ _'_

Both of the girls on the couch turned their heads towards the person who was making a commotion in Blake's kitchen. A small smile made its way onto the Faunus girl's face when she saw that the great Sienna Khan was struggling to open up a can of tuna.

"Uhh... do you need any help with that?" Blake questioned the Faunus woman, not even trying to hide the amusement swimming within her tone. "We have a can opener that you can use."

Sienna, whose cheeks had reddened at being caught struggling against a tuna can, smiled awkwardly and waved her hand dismissively at the younger Feline Faunus. "N-No! Don't worry about it Blake, I got this." She stated as she strained herself, trying to open up the can. "U-Ugh... I shouldn't have filed my nails down yesterday..."

 _snap!_

"Aha!" the Bengal Tigress exclaimed happily. Sienna then beamed a triumphant smile towards the teenaged girls in the living room, and held the can up towards them. "Told ya I could get it open!"

Weiss simply quirked an amused brow, and nodded at the Faunus woman. Whereas Blake chuckled at Sienna's casual use of her Faunus features; specifically her 'claws.' The Faunus girl only ever retracted them herself whenever she was in a fight. So seeing Sienna use them to open up a can of tuna was actually quite amusing.

"So what are you girls up to?" The Faunus woman asked them as she sat herself on top of the kitchen's counter.

"Oh we're just trying to wind down from an unnecessarily eventful day." Weiss answered offhandedly.

Despite the vague answer, Sienna snorted.

"It seems like the last few days have been unnecessarily eventful, and I don't think its gonna let up anytime soon." the Bengal Tigress remarked with a playful wink. "Especially considering what your moms have in store for Jacques."

"Tell me about it..." Blake chimed in, a little exasperated. "What are you guys going over now? You've been in the conference room upstairs for a while. Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Winter and Kal are just solidifying some connections that they've found within Vale's Justice System." Sienna shrugged. "Apparently, Winter knows a couple of people in the force that aren't completely corrupted by Jacques, and they're on board with taking him down." The woman hummed thoughtfully, "and as for what you guys can do... just keep up the act that you've been doing at school. Cinder's been giving both Jacques and Salem reports on what you girls have been up to, and from what I've heard, you haven't raised any of their suspicions yet..."

Blake's mood slowly began to lighten with each piece of information that Sienna disclosed about their plan. "Alright. All of that sounds like relatively good news!"

Sienna smirked at the girls. "Yup. Everything seems to be running smoothly... I'm pretty eager to see how Jacques is going to react to all of this. It's going to be priceless." Her smile briefly transformed into a scowl. "The bastard deserves everything coming at him, especially after he somehow managed to convince one of our workers to coerce all of the Faunus interns into trashing that store downtown." She then sighed. "I've been hearing that a bunch of those interns are actually getting in trouble with the law because of it. They're only _kids_."

"Wait... you're talking about the Rose-Branwen's store, right?" Weiss asked the Faunus woman. At the mention of the store, Blake met the white-haired girl's gaze, and she knew that they were both sharing the same thought.

"Yeah. The very store that you gave Jacques shit about that one morning... _why?_ "

"Did you know an intern named Ilia Amitola?" Blake joined in.

Sienna hummed in thought for a moment. But then she perked up. "The Chameleon-Faunus, right?"

Blake nodded.

"Yeah I knew her. In fact, I was the one who did her orientation. She's a hard worker, that kid." the Bengal Tigress continued. After a brief moment, it would seem that she caught on to what Blake and Weiss were insinuating with their questions. Sienna let out a sigh. "Don't tell me that she got caught up in all of this mess..."

Weiss gazed apologetically at the Faunus woman. "She got arrested earlier on in the day. For all of _that._.. amongst other things."

Sienna quirked a brow at the last part, but then hopped right off the counter. "I see..."

The girls watched as the Faunus woman stretched her arms above her head and let out a satisfied groan. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go deliver this can of tuna to Kali-"

"The half-empty one in your hand?" Blake interjected flatly.

"Yup." Sienna swiftly answered, cheekily popping the 'p' at the end. "I've also got some errands to attend to. If I find out anything interesting or relevant, then I'll give you guys a call."

And with that, Sienna made her exit while she continued to munch on the already half-eaten tuna can in her hands.

"Do you think we can trust her?"

Blake turned her head to face the girl next to her. Weiss was staring off in the direction that the Bengal Tigress had left in, with furrowed brows.

The Cat-Faunus shrugged. "She hasn't given us any reason _not_ to trust her... and I don't think my mom would've involved her in all of this if she didn't think that Sienna wasn't working on our side."

"Fair enough."

Soon, their conversation entered a silent lull. Blake had a feeling that the both of them were still trying to process everything that was going on. And, as Sienna mentioned earlier, all of this craziness wasn't gonna let up any time soon.

As she stewed in her thoughts, she could feel her own brows furrowing in mild worry.

 _Hopefully everything goes according to plan..._

* * *

 _Well shit hit the fan pretty quickly..._

Ilia crinkled her nose, and winced at how tender it still seemed to be. It had already been a couple of hours since Adam bludgeoned her face in with his fist, but it still felt like she _just_ got punched. It didn't exactly help that the ice pack in her hand had completely melted; she was basically holding a lukewarm bag of water at this point. She tried to ask for more ice ealier, but the officer on duty either didn't hear her or was ignoring her (very _reasonable_ ) request.

Ilia wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter.

Regardless, she still tried to call out for more ice from her jail cell.

"Hey! My nose still hurts... like _a lot_! I need more ice!"

 _aaaand... nothing._

The Chameleon-Faunus resisted the urge to cuss out loud. At this point, she was _convinced_ that the jailer or whatever wasn't even in the damn building. She had no way of telling, though. When they brought her to the station, the officers immediately separated her from Adam, and led her to the basement where the holding cells are. She only knew that the ground floor of the station was where the general 'office' area resided.

Every once in a while, an officer would check up on her... but the last one to do their rounds came a while back.

So there Ilia was, with a throbbing nose and a useless warm bag of water. In a dark, dusty holding cell.

Ilia sat down on the metal bench that was attached to the cell wall, and buried her head in her hands.

"I just want some-"

"Ice?"

Ilia whipped her head up at the sound of the new voice. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw just _who_ had spoken, and by habit, she shot up from her seat to address the woman before her.

"W-What are _you_ doing-?"

"Giving you some ice." They interrupted, reaching into Ilia's cell and holding out the new ice pack. The Chameleon-Faunus stared at them suspiciously, but nevertheless took the icepack from their outstretched hand. She immediately pressed the cold object against her nose, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Sienna."

"Don't mention it, kid."

After a couple of moments of silence, their interaction entered a standstill.

Ilia could barely make out the Bengal Tigress' facial expression, even though she was right in front of her. The way in which the basement's dim, fluorescent lights had _barely_ illuminated the other Faunus' face didn't help much either. But she had a feeling that even if she could see Sienna clearly, she still wouldn't be able to make heads or tails of what the woman was thinking. The woman's poker face was no joke.

 _Ugh, screw it._

Deciding to just get this all over with, the Chameleon-Faunus exhaled sharply and stared squarely into Sienna's eyes. "I doubt that you just came here to replace my ice pack." Ilia stated dryly, trying to feign indifference.

Sienna simply chuckled, and leaned her back against the wall behind her. "You're not wrong."

"So then why are you here, Sienna?"

"I'm here on a whim..." the Faunus woman answered cryptically. Before Ilia could even get angry at the Bengal Tigress' idiotically _vague_ answer, Sienna started to walk right up to the jail cell. Ilia wanted to back away from the bars that separated her from the woman, but she resisted the urge to do so. An indignant part of her refused to yield to the authority figure and show her weakness. So the Chameleon-Faunus set her jaw, and tried her best to hold the other Faunus' gaze.

"Let me redirect that question to you, Ilia."

"What-"

"Why are _you_ here, kid."

Ilia almost sneered at the Faunus woman. "you already know why I'm here!" she spat, glaring at Sienna between the bars. "I was one of the Faunus interns who was stupid enough to-!"

"That's not what I meant, you brat." Sienna swiftly interrupted. "I mean why are you here? In Vale?"

 _Huh?_

The Chameleon-Faunus scrunched up her face in utter confusion at the question. Did Sienna want Ilia to tell the woman her life story or something?! _How_ was this even relevant to what was going on? _What_ was even going on!?

Sienna, who sensed the confusion rolling off of Ilia's demeanour, simply gave the Faunus girl a dry look and crossed her arms. "I'm potentially about to do something that _may_ help you, but it's going to come at a very heavy cost." The Bengal Tigress huffed. For some odd reason, Ilia had a feeling that the woman was moreso annoyed at herself. "I want to know if it's going to be worth it."

"So tell me, kid: why did you leave Menagerie, and come to Vale?" Sienna questioned her again. "You seem like you're sharp enough to snag some job back home, despite your age. Hell, maybe you would've caught the attention of the White Fang and rose in their ranks." She then narrowed her eyes towards the Chameleon-Faunus. "Why leave to go to study at a foreign country; away from all that you're familiar with?"

"Because I didn't want to be just another statistic!"

Ilia didn't think that her voice was going to come out as loudly as it did. It seemed to echo throughout the basement's cement walls, and suddenly, the weight of her words came crashing back down on her. She let out a shaky breath, and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. When she held Sienna's gaze once more, she saw that the Faunus woman was just watching her with a neutral expression.

"Do you _know_ how many Faunus orphans actually get the chance to make something of themselves?" Ilia began, her voice small.

"I know the story that I've got is the same as the _countless_ others who have shared the same tragedy of losing their parents to anti-Faunus groups, or even the dust mines. I'm not foolish enough to think that my case is any more special or worse than another kid's situation." Despite her words, she clenched her fists. "But I'm sure as hell _not_ going to be another Faunus kid that just _lets_ the circumstances around me dictate what _I_ do for _myself_!"

Ilia scoffed. "I've always been agile, and fast. In fact, you weren't that far off when you said that I could've caught the White Fang's attention; because I did." The Faunus girl smiled wryly. "And the fact that I'm a Chameleon-Faunus that can perfectly blend into the shadows was something that appealed to the organization, too. The member I was talking to at the time made it seem like I was going to join a family, and since I _just_ lost mine... it sounded very promising."

Ilia's smile faded, and she stared off to the side. "But when I went to one of those recruitment rallies, it was like they were preparing us for _war._ I was only _eleven._ I-I didn't like the atmosphere at all... So I quickly got out of there, and never turned back."

She paused to try and get a feel for the Bengal Tigress' reaction. The woman before her seemed to be processing what she was hearing, and held a thoughtful expression. There was neither judgement nor sympathy in the woman's eyes; which Ilia was thankful for.

Sienna nodded, prompting the Faunus girl to continue on.

The Chameleon-Faunus sighed. "Around that time, the Vytal Sports Festival was being televised, and I happened to watch a glimpse of the gymnastics portion." This time when Ilia smiled, it came from a fond memory. "There was a spider-Faunus that did this _awesome_ floor routine, and I was completely hypnotized. She looked so _cool_ and graceful... I knew in that moment that I wanted to be _just like her_."

"So for the next six years of my life, I trained. Hard. I kept my head down, stayed on my best behaviour, and studied like crazy while I applied to _all_ of the schools around Remnant. Honestly, I didn't expect any of the four major Academies to get back to me but then _Beacon,_ of all schools, accepted me via scholarship. They gave me a free ride _and_ let me stay in their dormitories..."

 _But then I royally_ screwed _everything up._

"And... you probably know the rest." Ilia finished. "I had multiple lapses in judgement, made idiotic decisions, and somehow managed to _fuck_ everything up myself."

Ilia held her head down low in shame when she finished her spiel. After saying all of that out loud, the reality of her situation came crashing down on her.

 _I-I'm really going to get sent back to Menagerie... after all of my hard work!_

 _"God DAMMIT!_ " Ilia hissed under her breath.

She continued to stubbornly glare at the floor, and soon enough, her vision began to blur. She did nothing to wipe at the stupid tears that fell from her eyes, and she willed her lungs from wracking her body with sobs. Ilia felt like she had _no right_ to feel sorry for herself at this point. She did this to herself.

"So if you were given a second chance-"

"I would take it!" Ilia interrupted, almost desperately. She then lifted her gaze to meet the Faunus woman's eyes to elaborate more, but was caught off guard by the feral _smile_ that Sienna was directing at her.

"Then, you better make good use of the chance that I'm about to give you right now."

Ilia's eyes widened in shock.

"W-What?"

* * *

What _are they bickering about now!?_

"I just wanna _kiss her!_ "

"Ruby, for the love of God, _shut up!_ "

Raven groaned from where she was lying down on the couch, and tried to cover her ears with a couch pillow. For the past... who knows how long, both of her daughters have been bickering about-

"But did you _see_ Weiss today?!" Ruby exclaimed, "She was so freaking prett-AGH!"

Suddenly, all the dark-haired woman could hear were strained noises, and grunts coming from the both of her kids. Quirking a brow, Raven decided to peek her head over the couch to see what was going on. She had a feeling that her kids were roughhousing, but she wanted to know to what extent.

However, once she actually caught a glimpse of what was occurring in their general dining room area... well...

"Dear wife," Raven stated flatly, trying to get the attention of the other parental unit in their household. "Why is our eldest daughter shoving a block of ice onto our youngest daughter's face?"

Summer, who _had_ been reading a book on the recliner chair next to the couch, lifted her gaze to observe their daughters. She snorted. "I couldn't tell ya, babe."

Raven turned to face her weird daughters once more.

"Mmf-YANG!" Ruby gasped for air when she finally escaped the blonde's wrath, "W-What the _hell_ are you doing!?"

"Simulating a kiss with your Ice Princess so you'd _shut up_!"

This time when Ruby gasped, it was out of mild offence. "It doesn't feel like I'm kissing a block of ice when I'm kissing Weiss!"

the younger redhead stomped an indignant foot on the ground and crossed her arms; mimicking a certain white-haired girl that they all knew. "If you should _know_ , it actually feels like I'm kissing a peppermint-flavoured cloud! Which is a _hundred times_ more pleasant than _that_!" she exclaimed while she pointed at the melting piece of ice in Yang's hand.

"Well... I don't got any peppermint-flavoured clouds for you to kiss. So this is what ya get, sis!"

"W-Wha-"

 _SMACK!_

"Oh my God Yang just threw the block of ice at Ruby's face." Raven droned exasperatedly.

She didn't know if she should've been entertained, or worried about what was going on between her kids at the moment. The dark-haired woman knew that the girls wouldn't actually _hurt_ each other... at least on purpose. But, for the past few days, it's been more or less this rowdy at their household because of Ruby's incessant whining.

Subconsciously, Raven's gaze found the calendar hanging on one of the walls in their living room.

 _Next week can't come soon enough..._

* * *

 ***Rubs hands together in anticipation for the next couple of chapters***

 **LOL yup... well, that was a chapter! Looks like Ilia may get another chance~ ahaaa, hope you guys are still enjoying it! Next, you _may_ get to see a certain elder Schnee sister make an appearance again ;)**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	44. Chapter 44

**Issa Chapter!**

* * *

"W-What?"

Sienna only smirked knowingly at the bewildered Chameleon-Faunus behind bars, and whipped out her scroll to call a certain pale woman. Once she dialled the number, she lifted the device up to her right ear, and waited patiently as the ringer went off.

 _Ring...Ring...Ring... *Blip*_

 _"What is it, Sienna?"_

The Bengal Tigress quirked an amused brow at how cross the usually level-headed woman had sounded. Her smirk widened into a grin, and she couldn't help but make a comment on it. "Oh my~" Sienna playfully drawled. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of your bed this morning, Salem?"

From her periphery, she could see that Ilia flinched at the name.

 _"Khan, I have half the mind to add on to your debt to me."_

"Then let me beat you to it." Sienna retorted with a deceivingly light tone.

There was a silence that seemed to stretch on after she made that statement. Salem was, without a doubt, wondering why the Bengal Tigress would willingly do such a thing. Usually, when people were in debt they would want to get _out_ of it, not add more.

As the silence went on, Sienna could practically _feel_ the pale woman's smile through the scroll. After being around her for a couple of months, she picked up on the fact that Salem was the type of person who revelled in the power that she had over people; _especially_ the people who were indebted to her. Unfortunately for Sienna, she was one such person. And she owed the woman _a lot_ ; like, 'she's going to have to work for Salem for the rest of her life' _a lot_.

Not that she truly minded, of course. Sienna would say that she got a pretty good set up with Salem, being her personal bodyguard and all. At first, the Bengal Tigress wondered why Salem didn't just give her some manual labor job. When she questioned the woman about this, she was told that it was because she was the previous High Leader of the White Fang. Which honestly... made a lot of sense.

The name White Fang in itself would cause a person to feel uneasy.

So if people knew that one of the Faunus' who literally _led_ the White Fang was 'working' for Salem, then...

Who would even _dare_ to take her down?

 _"Alright... I'm listening._ _"_

Sienna mentally let out a sigh of relief when Salem actually decided to be cooperative. "Okay, so to start off: how much of my debt would be the equivalent of a kid's tuition at Beacon Academy?"

" _... do you want to attend-_ "

"The tuition isn't for _me_." The Bengal Tigress wiped a hand down her face in utter annoyance. "Just answer my question, Salem."

On the other line, Salem hummed contemplatively as she calculated the answer. Sienna didn't even need to be in front of the damn woman to know that she was absolutely bemused by this situation.

 _"Hmm... the equivalent would be about six years._ _"_

" _Six_ years-!? Don't kids only go to that institute for like, _three_?"

" _It's an expensive school, Sienna_."

No _shit_.

Rather than voicing her thoughts out loud, Sienna opted to let out a melodramatic groan that dragged on for longer than it should have. While she was doing this, she saw that Ilia still projected utter confusion at what was occurring at the moment. Despite that fact, Sienna could also see an underlying sense of _hope_ emanate from the young Faunus girl's eyes. Even though the girl couldn't hear what Salem was saying on the other line of the phone call, the Faunus woman's question was most likely a dead giveaway on what the said phone call was about.

 _This better be fucking worth it._

"Add that on to my debt to you." Sienna finally said. "There's a Faunus kid that got caught up in the mess with that store downtown, and I'm bailing her out of jail. She was already attending Beacon on a scholarship, but that flew right out of the window when she got thrown in here. So in exchange for _six...years-_ " She actually struggled saying that part out loud. "-of my debt... please, pay for this kid's education."

Upon finishing her query, the Faunus woman was met with complete silence; which might've worried her a little bit. When it came to silence with Salem, it meant one of two things. Either... One: she was actually considering the offer made to her, and going through the possible benefits that helping out the young Faunus girl may bring. Or Two: she was pissed beyond belief, probably at the fact that Sienna was trying to use her power for some random charity case.

After a moment of consideration, Salem let out a bit of a chuckle.

 _"Very well... I'll pay for the child's education for exchange of six years of your debt."_ Salem finally answered. _"For your sake, this better be worth it._ _"_

And with that, the line went off with a _blip!_

Sienna scrunched her face up in mild disbelief at how _quickly_ the woman agreed with her makeshift deal.

After standing there in dumbfound silence, she simply shrugged off how relatively _easy_ that task ended up being. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Salem actually had any plans for Ilia, but then she quickly debunked the thought. If anything, the Faunus woman wouldn't be all that surprised if Salem agreed to her plea just because she was freaking _bored._

There was also the fact that the woman was only vaguely familiar with Ilia, and she doubted that the young Faunus girl could truly bring merit to the empire that was Salem's Faction (aka Salem's Bodyguard Services).

She honestly didn't know _why_ everyone insisted on calling it a 'Faction'... it was hardly the shady organization that everyone made it out to be. But then again, Salem was also one of those power-hungry rich women that literally thrived off of the fear of others. She most likely used those rumours circulating about her business to her advantage. And it _worked_.

"W-What was that all about?"

Ilia's question suddenly jolted the Faunus woman from her thoughts. Then, as she focused on the young Faunus before her, she was immediately reminded of _why_ she just signed off about _six years_ of her life to Salem.

Sienna smirked at the girl. "Oh it was nothing really." she stated offhandedly, "I just saved you a trip back to Menagerie, is all."

She waited patiently for her words to sink in before-

"You _what_!?" the girl's jaw went slack. "W-When did you- no, _why_ would you-!?"

"I did it just now." Sienna interrupted, the smirk never leaving her face, "and as for why? Well... you could say that it came from the kindness of my heart?"

She full on smiled when the Chameleon-Faunus rolled her eyes at the cheeky answer.

Regardless, Ilia decided to leave it at that and just stared back at the Bengal Tigress in awe. The girl looked like she didn't know if she should've been elated or cried at the moment.

"T-Thank you-"

"Before you go thanking me, I just want to make a couple of things _known_." Sienna cut her off, the smile on her lips taking a more _threatening_ turn.

With lightning speed and precision, the Faunus woman shot her hand out between the bars and grabbed onto the Faunus girl's collar. She roughly pulled Ilia close, nearly smacking the kid's face against the jail cell while she was at it, and basically _bared_ her teeth at the girl.

"Don't go thinking that I'll give you another free pass if you fuck up this chance, Ilia." Sienna continued on, slitting her eyes in the process. Ilia visibly shook when the Bengal Tigress did this action. "If you _ever_ get into this kind of trouble again then I will ship you back to Menagerie _myself_."

The Faunus woman growled when Ilia didn't immediately say anything back.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Ilia audibly gulped.

"C-Crystal."

* * *

"Is what we're doing tomorrow clear enough for everyone?"

All of the women sitting at the conference table simply let out tired responses of affirmation towards the eldest Schnee daughter's query. Even Viktoria herself was feeling a little weary from being in the stuffy room for so long. But who could blame her? they've been in Kali's damn conference room for nearly _six hours_ , fine tuning the whole ploy that they were about to unleash on Jacques the next day.

The last couple of days in general have been filled with nonstop meetings, and long-winded phone calls that all had to do with what was going to occur in the next 24 hours. The Schnee Matron came to realize that the act of publicly exposing Jacques in itself wasn't the most complicated part of this whole ordeal (surprisingly enough). Rather, the most daunting part of the plan was finding the connections that would help make the effects of Jacques' scandal _last._

Viktoria offered to make a couple of phone calls herself, but both Kali and Winter pointed out how that would raise Jacques' suspicions. So she had to leave all of those technicalities to Kali, Winter, and Qrow. Thankfully, they were all able to find the right people to get involved with this whole scheme in time.

Kali found uncorrupted media connections that she trusted enough to not skew the scandal that was to come. Then there was Winter who had colleagues in Vale's Justice System that were more than willing to take Jacques down. As for Qrow? Well, Viktoria wasn't so sure what _else_ the man could dig up on her husband. But apparently, he had a feeling that there was more dirt that he could get on him.

Winter nodded. "Alright, good." She turned to face Viktoria, "and I trust that you'll debrief Weiss on what's to come in the upcoming day?"

"Of course." Viktoria promptly answered. "When I make it back to the Manor, I'll make sure to give her a summary of what we just finalized."

Suddenly, the white-haired woman jolted upright when one Ruby Rose _whined_. "I _still_ don't get why Jacques made her go back hom-mmf!"

Viktoria raised an amused brow when both Raven and Yang haphazardly shoved their hands on Ruby's face. Her entertainment only increased when she saw that the mother and daughter weren't even covering her mouth. The young blonde had her prosthetic hand squished against the redhead's right cheek, and Raven had her own hand pressed against the girl's left one.

" _Umf_ han _th_ fme a _th_ onc _th!_ " Ruby muffled between their hands, struggling to break free.

"No." The Branwen-Xiao Long pair deadpanned.

The young redhead grabbed their hands, shoved them away from her face, and then raspberried at her assailants. Raven and Yang raspberried back.

Kali, who was sitting next to the Schnee Matron, chuckled at their antics. "How is Weiss doing, anyway?" the Faunus woman asked Viktoria, directing everyone's attention back to her. "I know that she's only been back in the Manor for a day, but I imagine that Jacques wasted no time in pestering the girl about the preparations for his Soiree."

Viktoria gave Kali a tired smile. "She's doing the best that anyone could do in that house, I'll tell you that."

"So she's doing alright?"

"Yeah, I'd say that she's doing alright." Viktoria confirmed, thinking about how her youngest daughter was faring.

Kali wasn't wrong when she assumed that Jacques was preparing the girl for the party the following day. The controlling man took it upon himself to prepare the entire schedule for the evening. He had everything planned from when the guests were going to eat, to the times designated for socializing and dancing; to the 'surprise engagement announcement' between Cinder and Weiss. Hell, Jacques even picked out what their daughter was going to _wear_ for the night.

The only thing that he didn't prepare for was for all of it to blow up in his face.

As the Schnee Matron stewed in her thoughts, the reality of the situation began to sink in. In mere hours they were going to attempt to take down one of the most powerful men in all of Remnant. The days leading up to that moment were filled with an odd mixture of excitement and dread. This was not, by any means, going to be an easy task. There were going to be a lot of repercussions that they were going to face in the aftermath of it all. Viktoria would be lying if she said that it didn't make her anxious.

But she knew that she wasn't going to face it all on her own. That thought alone gave her enough hope to go on.

"Well if nobody has anything else to add, then this meeting is officially over." Winter finally stated, snapping Viktoria back to reality.

Soon, all of the women started to file out of the room. Getting up from her chair, the Schnee Matron followed suit with the rest of them.

"M-Mother, wait!"

Viktoria stopped in her tracks and stared inquisitively at her daughter who called out to her. She took notice of how the woman's brows were upturned in what appeared to be apprehension, and that she was actually struggling to hold her gaze. Suddenly, a small wave of concern began to wash over Viktoria when her child exhibited this behaviour. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had seen Winter act so... meek.

"Is everything alright, Winter?"

"I-! Er, Yes." the woman in question stammered. "I... just wanted to speak with you. Privately, if that's okay." The last part of her statement was more so directed at the Belladonna Matron, who had lingered at the conference room's door.

Kali simply gave the younger Schnee an encouraging smile, and nodded. "Take all the time you need."

Shortly after, the Faunus woman shut the door with a soft _click!_ and left the two Schnee women to talk.

* * *

"What do you think they're talking about?"

Kali regarded the dark-haired woman raiding her fridge thoughtfully, and then shrugged. "I don't know, but it seemed like it was going to be about something personal."

Presently, the group of women were lounging around in the Belladonna's general kitchen/living room area. Their children migrated to the living room, opting to idly chat amongst themselves on the couches. Well...with the exception of the Coco and Velvet. The adorable brown-haired couple decided to take their leave first.

Shortly after, a small smile tugged at Kali's lips when she caught wind of the bickering occurring between the Rose-Xiao Long sisters. The blonde threatened her little sister with something called an 'ice block' which effectively got the younger girl to shut up.

"Are you sure that it's a good idea to leave them alone?" Summer joined in, sitting herself on one of the barstools by the kitchen's counter. "Even though they're acting civil, things still seem kind of tense between them."

"From what I understand, things have always been a little rocky between Vi and Winter... At least, that's what Weiss had told me." Kali responded, taking a seat across the silver-eyed woman. "It didn't look like their discussion was going to be a heated one, though. So I'll trust that they'll be able to speak with one another without fighting."

Raven, who had finished scouring Kali's fridge, took the seat next to her wife and snacked on some of the Faunus woman's leftovers. There was a long pause after their conversation, and soon the women just sat there in comfortable silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the faint, idle chatter coming from their children sitting in the living room.

"So what are you gonna do after we pull this whole scheme off, Kal?"

The Belladonna turned her head to face the woman eating her snacks, and let out a withering sigh. "I need to set up a press conference for Vi to address-"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Raven interrupted with an eye roll. "But if you really need me to say it out loud then let me rephrase: when the _hell_ are you going to make your move on Vi-mmff!" Kali swiftly reached over the counter and smacked her hand against the dark-haired woman's face.

"Would you keep your voice _down_!"

"I'd also like to know the answer to that question, too." Blake's voice came from the living room.

The Faunus woman immediately whipped her head around, and she stared at her child in mild shock. The Faunus girl simply pointed cheekily at her Faunus ears to let Kali know that she obviously heard the Branwen woman's words. Shortly after, Kali's own ears pinned down against her skull in embarrassment when she realized that she inadvertently captured the attention of _all_ of the women in her kitchen/living room area. Everyone was just staring right back at her with attentive smiles, waiting for her to answer Raven's question.

The Faunus woman could only groan.

"What do you guys expect me to do? Get down on one knee and propose?!" Kali exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Oh my God, YES!" Summer squealed, bouncing up and down on her barstool. Before the hyperactive woman could continue on to _babble_ about how 'wonderful' that would be, Kali swiftly lifted an arm up to cut her off.

"As much as I would love to do that... and trust me, I do." The Cat-Faunus paused, and looked off to the side with a faraway expression. "But the timing- it's not right. If we do manage to pull this whole 'Jacques scandal' off, then things are going to be hectic for the next couple of _months_."

Raven frowned, "But-"

"I'm just saying that I am willing to wait for as long as it takes to be with her." Kali finished.

When she returned her gaze back to the Rose-Branwen pair, she saw that they were both obviously dissatisfied with her answer. Raven was frowning deeply, and Summer had her signature pout on. In spite of their apparent displeasure, the Faunus woman smiled; as she couldn't help but feel endeared by how much they cared for both her and Vi. She knew that they meant well with their borderline _meddling_ , but at this point, Kali believed in her heart that she was meant to be with the Schnee Matron.

It didn't matter _when_ it was gonna happen.

" _Guys_..." playfully rolling her eyes, Kali grabbed each of her friends hands atop the kitchen counter and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "we all already know how Vi and I feel about each other - how we've _always_ felt about each other. We don't need to rush things!"

"We don't need to _rush-_ Kal! It's almost been _two decades._ " Summer exclaimed, throwing her arms up in frustration. "This freaking proposal, or 'confession of love' or _whatever_ is long past overdue!"

Raven, who resumed eating Kali's snacks, only silently nodded to confirm her wife's words.

Kali tried to make a rebuttal. "B-But-"

" _And,_ " the riled up redheaded woman continued, pointing an accusatory finger at the Cat-Faunus. "You're totally pulling the same _crap reasoning_ that you used when we were teenagers to delay the flipping inevitable between you and Vi! Even back then, 'timing' had nothing to do with it. _You_ were just too much of a freaking _pussy cat_ to make your move!"

Raven nodded once more to agree with her wife.

The Faunus woman, on the other hand, opened her mouth to make a retort but then snapped it shut. As Kali sat there and _really thought_ about Summer's words, she pursed her lips in a thin line and furrowed her brows when she realized one thing.

Summer... was _right._

Even though Kali truly felt that things between her and Vi were going to piece together eventually, she had to admit that there was an underlying sense of _fear_ beneath all of her hope. And honestly... she couldn't figure out _why_ she felt it. Was it simply self doubt? Maybe. Was it the fact that Vi was still married to Jacques? Okay, she knew the answer to that one; no it was not.

All she knew was that it was absolutely _mind-boggling_ to think about.

So Kali groaned once more.

"I'll cross that damn bridge when I get to it!"

Summer gaped at her. "I hardly believe that this is something that you should _wing,_ Kali." the woman turned to Raven, and swiftly grabbed the snacks out of her wife's hands. "Rae, knock some sense into her!"

Raven, who had been peacefully eating her snacks and passively agreeing with Summer, simply gave her wife a deadpan look. "Summer, she's a grown woman. She can make her own decisions." she paused, and then gave Kali a sidelong glance. "I'm only going to intervene if she tries to do something _stupid,_ like _leave the country_."

In response, Kali grunted at Raven's subtle mention of her past mistake. Although she knew that her friend didn't mean anything rude by it, she couldn't deny the fact that the reminder had stung. Crossing her arms, Kali huffed and gave Raven a pointed look. "I don't plan on running away, Rae."

Satisfied by the Belladonna Matron's answer, the dark-haired woman smirked and snatched her snacks back from Summer.

"Good." Raven turned to fully face Kali, staring her squarely in the eye. "because like you said: after this whole thing with Jacques blows over, it's going to be _hectic_ in Vi's life for a while." As the Branwen woman spoke, her facial expression hardened. Raven leaned menacingly over the counter, and towered over Kali. "which means that she'll be relying on _you_ for support, Kal. So you _don't_ get to decide what's best for her by leaving. Got it?"

For a split second, the Belladonna Matron's anger flared at Raven's words. It went without saying that she was going to be there for Vi in the aftermath of it all. So Raven implying that she might leave when things were going to get hard made her feel outright insulted. But her anger immediately dissipated when she remembered that she didn't have the best track record when it came to sticking around during dire times.

She really _did_ leave Vi to deal with things on her own.

However, back then, she was an idiot Faunus girl who didn't know how to deal with her own feelings.

Now, she was an idiot Faunus woman who knew how to handle a thing or two.

No. This time, Kali was staying. For good.

A sense of resolve welled up within her, and she met Raven's gaze with unflinching determination.

Kali nodded her head.

"Got it."

* * *

After Kali had shut the door, Viktoria carefully watched as Winter leaned back into her chair and sighed. Although her posture suggested that she was relaxed, the tenseness rolling off her overall demeanour showed the Schnee Matron otherwise.

Regardless, Winter gave her a tired smile. "Mother... how are you doing?"

Viktoria was somewhat taken aback by the rather jarring question. With the way that Winter was acting right before Kali left the room, she thought that something might've been wrong. Apparently, her daughter just wanted to check up on her.

So she waved the woman off, almost flippantly. "I've been doing just _fine_ , Winter. If anything, you should be worrying about your sis-"

"I wasn't asking about Weiss." Winter ran a hand through her hair, and let out a frustrated huff. For a moment, Viktoria thought that this interaction was going to turn into another shouting match between them, but then she saw the pleaful look in her daughter's eyes.

"M-Mom, just this once, could you _please_ not... brush me off?"

The Schnee Matron pursed her lips in a thin line. The weight behind Winter's question constricted around her chest, and a lump began to form in her throat. She won't deny the fact that she was outright dismissive of her children in the past, but she never thought anything of it - she didn't believe that it ever affected them. However, it was in this moment where she could clearly see how much of an impact her dismissiveness had on her eldest daughter.

The girl just sounded so... _worn out_ _._

Swallowing thickly, Viktoria nodded; prompting Winter to go on.

When Winter saw that Viktoria was trying to be cooperative, she broke free from the Schnee Matron's gaze. Her daughter stared down hard at the conference table with furrowed brows. "Has _he_ tried hurting you again?"

Almost immediately, Viktoria's gaze had softened. The Schnee Matron honestly wasn't expecting... well, _that._ Before she knew it, she got up from her spot and sat in the seat next to her child. She placed a comforting hand on top of Winter's on her lap. "Oh Winter..."

Winter kept her eyes on the table. "I always knew that father was a horrible man, but to think that he'd raise a hand against _you,_ let alone _Weiss_ \- his own daughter... I just-!" she let out a shaky sigh. "I should have been there _._ "

Again, something weighed down on Viktoria's heart when Winter said that last part. The young woman's voice came out so small, and strained; it was jarring to see her act so vulnerable. Viktoria gave the girl's hand a squeeze. "Winter, no. You can't blame yourself for what happened while you were gone."

"I shouldn't have been gone in the first place!" The Schnee girl exclaimed, slamming her free hand on the table.

Viktoria flinched at the sudden outburst, but nevertheless kept her hand on her daughter's own. A sense of guilt began to engulf the Schnee Matron when she thought about how much her eldest daughter resembled Jacques in that moment. It was a fleeting notion, but it was a notion that the Schnee woman would have time and time again whenever she had arguments with Winter.

It was just... the way they both were with their words; with their _anger._ It was violent in nature and sometimes... it was frightening.

Winter took notice of her mother's reaction and tried to let out a calming breath. When she seemed to relax, she finally lifted her eyes to meet Viktoria's once more.

All the Schnee Matron could see in her daughter's deep azure gaze were _years_ worth of pent up remorse.

She wanted to do nothing more than to take all that regret and pain away from her child.

But... she just didn't know _how_.

Suddenly, Winter smiled at her. Almost bitterly. "I'm a lot like him, aren't I?" she asked, chuckling humourlessly. When Viktoria opened her mouth to refute Winter's words, the girl continued on. "Don't try to deny it, Mom. I can see it in the way you look at me when I raise my voice against you... it's the same way you look at _him_ when he gets angered too."

The lump in the Schnee Matron's throat only grew as her daughter spoke. Every fibre of her being was screaming at her to tell Winter that she was _nothing_ like Jacques. But then years upon years of memories began to flood back into Viktoria's mind regarding the complicated relationship between that man and her eldest daughter.

Before Weiss...it was _Winter_ who had to measure up to Jacques' expectations.

It was _Winter_ who had to carry the burden of inheriting the corrupted SDC.

It was _Winter_ who had to strive for Jacques' approval.

It was _Winter_ who had been trained throughout her entire life to be that _damn man's_ shadow.

So no one in their family could deny that Winter was _just like_ _Jacques_ in every sense. From their mannerisms, to the way they demanded respect, to the way they exuded leadership and control. It was _i_ _dentical._

The only thing that set the young woman apart from her father was how they _used_ their power.

Jacques used his power for self gain - for money. Winter... she used her power to help others around the world - to help their country.

That was what made her _better_ than him, what made her _more than him._

And Viktoria was going to let her know that.

Steeling her resolve, the Schnee Matron trained her eyes on her daughter with determination. "You're wrong."

"But-!"

"No. Listen to me, Winter." Viktoria swiftly interrupted. "You are more than what that man will ever be."

Her daughter's eyes widened marginally in disbelief at her statement. Regardless of what her daughter believed, Viktoria pressed on.

"Jacques, he uses his power to monopolize those around him. _You,_ on the other hand, use your power and your skills to protect your country - to protect those who you _love_. So don't you dare compare yourself to him!" she then smiled at her daughter, albeit tiredly. "I honestly don't know where all of this is coming from...but if you have any lingering guilt about how you left, I want you to know that Weiss and I have _never_ blamed you. We understood why you had to leave, Winter. We both knew how hard you had it growing up."

She lifted a hand up to softly caress her daughter's cheek. "We also knew how much _courage_ it took for you to leave him and everything that you know."

Her daughter swallowed thickly, and fought against the unshed tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. The Schnee Matron could see how _at war_ the young woman was with herself. She couldn't even imagine what was going on inside her head. For _years_ , Winter had been moulded by Jacques to be his spitting image - to be his clone. And it was only recently did she finally find the courage to break free from him.

A storm of emotions seemed to sweep across Winter's face in that moment - regret, pain, apprehension... then hope.

Soon, Viktoria found herself pulling her child towards her in an embrace. The young woman initially stiffened from the gesture, but then the Schnee Matron felt her quietly tremble against her shoulder.

"Winter, right now, you _don't_ need to put on a brave face." Viktoria whispered softly. "Whatever doubts, regrets, or pain that you've been harbouring on your own for the past couple of years... you can confide in _me._ You can let it all out, honey."

And Winter did just that.

Between stifled sobs, Winter told her _everything._

Winter told Viktoria how terrified she was of Jacques growing up. She had told her about the brief period of resentment that she had towards _Weiss_ , for not having expectations placed upon her by their father. She told her how much she _hated_ Viktoria at a point, for not being able to protect her from him. And... She told her how scared she truly was after leaving the familiarity of their home.

And Viktoria listened.

Through her own tears, she listened to her daughter's words. She knew that Winter needed this right now.

When Winter finally seemed to calm down, she pulled back from Viktoria and gave her an embarrassed smile.

"My goodness... I only wanted to ask you how you were doing. How did it turn to _this?_ "

The Schnee Matron snorted at that. "I haven't a clue, Winter."

Soon, both of the Schnee women were encompassed in a fit of giggles when they thought about how bizarre this situation was. When their laughter died down, the Schnee girl smiled at her mother.

"Despite everything I just told you... Mom, I love you."

Viktoria smiled back at the girl.

"I love you too, Winter."

* * *

 **I sweaaarr this is the last development/filler chapter before 'Jacques' party' xD It didn't sit right with me that there was no 'reconciliation' moment between Winter and Vi, especially with how I introduced the nature of their relationship a while back in the story. It was something that I didn't want to gloss over. Sooo I decided to write about it in this chapter! Hopefully it wasn't _too_ 'out of left field.'**

 **And Now we FINALLY get to the meatier part of this Story Arc! I'm probably going to make the whole soiree about 2-3 chapters long? LOL idk, it depends how it all pans out. Expect lots of dancing and flirting from the teenaged RWBY ships!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N: It's finally here, dear readers! The first part of the party!**

* * *

Raven fussed around in her dress for the umpteenth time while she sat in the back of Kali's car with her family. Her wife was sitting in the passenger's seat, chatting with the Faunus woman as she drove. To her left sat her youngest daughter, Ruby - who was bouncing her right leg up and down in anticipation. Yang, who was sitting to Raven's right, grunted at her restlessness.

"Ma, could you cut it out with the fidgeting? You keep bumping into my cast."

Raven huffed at her kid. "I can't help it if it's too stuffy back here!" she then shot Kali a pointed look through the rearview mirror. "If we had taken my _truck,_ then we would've had more than enough space for everyone."

Kali, who caught wind of Raven's whining, snorted at her. "Rae...if we had taken your _truck_ , then we wouldn't even make it past the gates that lead into the Schnee estate _._ "

Raven opened her mouth to make retort to the Faunus woman's statement, but then closed it. When she thought about it, Kali was totally right. There was no way that the gatekeepers would let her drive inside the general area with her beat up truck. Hell, they probably would've towed her vehicle away while they were _still in it._

So rather than continuing on to bicker with Kali, she opted to pout in the backseat. Kali hummed in satisfaction when she saw that Raven decided not to press on about the trivial matter. Summer, on the other hand, giggled at her wife's childish behaviour.

Soon enough, the car entered a silent lull. As she sat in her seat, she wondered in the back of her mind how she was going to survive the night. Raven had never been good with big, fancy social gatherings. The music was always mind-numbingly drab, and the food was tragically stale and proportionately small. As for the people? Well, lets just say that the Branwen woman would rather jump off a cliff than actually interact with high-class socialites.

However, she reminded herself that she was doing this for her friends and family.

Also... she _really_ wanted to see the look on Jacques' face when he finally gets what he deserves. She fucking hated him, especially after what he put Vi through during the past two decades.

Ruby let out a low whistle and jolted the Branwen out of her thoughts. "The view of the city from up here is amazing..."

Raven turned her head towards Ruby's window to get a good look of the view. Her eyes widened slightly in awe at how much of the city they could see from where they were. She could literally see the entirety of Vale.

At the base of the mountain range, the houses belonging to Vale's elite could be spotted - their lights were scarcely lit and relatively spaced out. But when her gaze travelled towards the rest of the city, the disconnect between the high class and the general population was made glaringly apparent.

Further down the mountain's base, Raven could see the vibrant lights of downtown Vale emitting a soft glow - some were brighter than others, and some lit up the night in a blaze of colour. The sheer number of lights and buildings in the city itself was more abundant than that of Vale Orchard. She could basically sense the liveliness of the city's nightlife from where they were.

It was like she was looking down at a starry sky - it was _beautiful_.

"How much farther up do we have to drive?" Yang chimed in, capturing Raven's attention. "We've been going up this mountain for a while..."

Just as the dark-haired woman was about to answer her kid, Kali drove past a bend in the road that led right to the gates of the Schnee Estate. As they neared the gates that were guarding the _I_ _ce F_ _ortress_ (at least that's what Raven would refer to it as), Yang let out a low whistle at the sight.

"Jeez... those gates are _huge!_ What are they trying to keep out, Grimm?!"

Kali simply laughed at Yang's question as she rolled down her window to speak to the gatekeepers. "They are pretty excessive, aren't they?"

Raven snorted. _That was an understatement_.

The gates were around fifteen feet tall and seemed to loom over whoever stood before them. They looked to be made out of some steel-like substance, and did a ridiculously good job at making onlookers or potential robbers feel like they _shouldn't_ try to cross them without special access/clearance. Well, she doubted that would even be a problem for the Schnee's, especially with how 'out of the way' their Estate was relative to the rest of the city. Who would take the _time_ to try and rob them?

Raven brought her attention to the bulky, bald-ish man who walked up to the driver's window. Her anger flared momentarily at the obviously suspicious expression that he held when he talked to Kali, and she tried not to jump at the man when he was blatantly staring at the woman's Faunus ears. Despite the gatekeeper's microaggressive behaviour, the Faunus woman handled him with grace, and soon enough they were driving past the gates.

"Oh my God, I can't believe we're actually here!" Ruby exclaimed, her voice filled with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. "Are we meeting Blake and the others at the entrance?"

"Yup." Yang answered, holding her scroll up. "I just got a text from Blake, and they're waiting at the entranceway right now. Apparently, they pulled into the Estate a couple of minutes ago."

Ruby only nodded silently, and all but shook from anticipation upon hearing her sister's response. Soon, the car rolled to a stop near the said 'entranceway,' and all of the women promptly got out of the vehicle. Almost immediately, one of those valet people came to relinquish Kali's keys from her and rather curtly directed the Faunus woman to the entrance of the Estate. And by 'directed,' she meant the worker vaguely pointed towards the general direction to the entrance and let the Belladonna Matron figure it out for herself.

As they walked, Raven couldn't help but question Kali about the workers microaggressive behaviour.

" _How_ are you not punching out every single racist worker that you meet?"

Kali gave Raven a sidelong glance, and simply regarded her question with a snort. "Rae, it wouldn't be the first time I was treated in such a way... and if I started out the night with knocking out a _worker_ , then I doubt they'd let me in," she then paused, as if contemplating something. "The only person I'm willing to get 'physically violent' with is Jacques - if it comes down to it."

The Branwen woman smirked at the last part of Kali's statement.

 _Now_ that's _an idea I can get behind._

Soon enough, they met up with the second half of their group - who were waiting by the entrance to the Schnee's _literal fortress_. As they walked up to it, she heard her kids gasp at the massive size of the building. Hell, even Raven was looking on at Vi's home in awe, despite the fact that she had been there a handful of times during her adolescence.

"Holy _frick_ , it's like a castle!" Ruby's brows almost reached her hairline, and her eyes were widened in shock, "It's almost as big as Beacon!"

Blake, who had claimed her place by Yang's side, let out a little chuckle at the redhead's observation. "Yeah... it wouldn't be an understatement to say that the Schnee's are on their own level of affluence."

Coco walked up to the Faunus girl's other side with Velvet at her arm, and scoffed. "And Jacques does an extremely good job at showing it off."

"It's not even _his_ to show off in the first place... we all know that all of this belong's to Vi." Summer grumbled under her breath.

Raven simply snaked an arm around her wife's waist to settle the woman down, but nevertheless exhaled sharply in some form of agreement to her statement.

"Well... that's why we're here." Kali chimed in. "We're gonna take back what's Vi's! It's about time some changes were made and..." The Faunus woman's voice trailed off. The Branwen noted the slight upturn of her friend's brows as she stared onto the entranceway before them.

Quirking her brow, Raven directed her gaze to what momentarily caught Kali's attention. Once she focused on the young woman who was standing before the doors that lead to the Schnee Estate, Raven understood why Kali appeared to be concerned. Although they could only see her back, everyone could practically feel the apprehension and tension rolling off of Winter's demeanour.

Kali was the one who took the initiative to speak to the eldest Schnee daughter.

Raven watched as the Belladonna Matron walked up next to Winter, and place a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "Is everything alright, Winter? Do you need a minute before we walk in?"

Winter jolted slightly from the small gesture, but then turned to give Kali a reassuring smile. "I-I'm... fine. At least I will be." she paused, and swallowed thickly as she faced the estate once more. "It's just a little strange being back here after a couple of years."

"I imagine that it would feel strange." Kali gave Winter's shoulder a squeeze, "but I want you to remember that you're not going back _alone,_ Winter. We're going to get you, Weiss, and your mother through this."

Soon, the tension from Winter's shoulders slowly ebbed away, and she finally relaxed. "Thank you, Kali... for everything. You've been nothing but kind to my mother and sister while I was gone. I have no idea how I'm ever going to repay you for-"

"Nuh-uh! Don't finish that sentence, young lady!" the Faunus woman swiftly interrupted her. "I do everything that I do for you guys because I _want to_. So there will no talk whatsoever about 'paying me back.'"

"She also does everything for you guys because she's madly in love with your mother!"

Kali immediately whipped her head around and shot Summer an embarrassed glare. "S-Summer-!"

"Well, it's not like it's any _secret_. We've already been through this yesterday!"

The Faunus woman huffed at the cheeky redheaded woman. "But when you put it _that way_ , you make it seem like I'm trying to win favour with Winter and Weiss to get to Vi, which is absolutely _not_ the case." She then gave Summer a pointed look. "Obviously, I'm doing this for them too! I already think of those two girls as my own daughters and-a-AHEM!"

The Belladonna Matron cut herself off by faking a cough when she realized what she said. Everyone else, on the other hand, gazed at the flustered Faunus woman in bemusement from the small revelation that she made about how she views the young Schnee sisters.

Winter genuinely grinned at the Faunus woman. "Well, for what it's worth, you already have my blessing to make that official anytime you want. I'm sure Weiss would agree with me too."

Kali widened her eyes at what the young woman was obviously insinuating. "I- uh... w-what-?"

"You _have_ said that you always wanted a litter, mom." Blake interjected with a toothy grin.

"Blake!"

"Oh my gosh, this is cute and all but are we gonna get this show on the road or what?!" Summer groaned, effectively ruining the little 'Belladonna-Schnee' moment. Everyone else simply chuckled at the redheaded woman's impatience, and made their way towards the spot where Winter and Kali were standing.

They all stood in a line, and looked up at the massive entranceway that led into the Schnee estate.

Raven could feel the excitement slowly seep into her body and she smiled wickedly.

"Let's do this!"

* * *

Weiss stared down at all of the guests from the Ballroom's balcony - her forehead creased in apprehension as she took in the sight before her. The Schnee Ballroom had been scarcely used throughout the years, with its last use being for the sham of a wedding between Jacques and her mother. Despite that fact, none of their guests would have guessed so, especially seeing how immaculate and beautifully arranged everything seemed to be.

The gargantuan doors that led into the area were left wide open to let people enter the ballroom. Near the entrance was a live orchestra band playing classical music that echoed throughout the entire room. Mixed in with the music, Weiss could faintly hear the idle, uppity chatter coming from the mouths of the nameless socialites that she never cared to actually interact with.

The tables designated for eating were spaced evenly throughout the Ballroom, taking up the space outside of the dancing/socializing area - which was clearly meant to be in the centre of the room. If one's eyes gazed upwards from the dance floor, they could see a massive chandelier that had an endless amount of diamonds that gleamed, almost obnoxiously, down on whomever would stare at it.

Her eyes did one more sweep across the room, but she still couldn't spot the familiar mop of red hair that she was looking for. Upon realizing that fact, she sighed.

"They're going to be here soon, Weiss." a reassuring voice came from behind. "I got a message from Winter earlier. They're waiting for Kali and the others to arrive, but I'm positive that they will be here shortly."

Weiss turned to face her mother with a small, appreciative smile.

"You're right- oh my..." she furrowed her brows when she actually saw her mother's face. "You took the eye-patch off... are you sure that your eye healed completely?"

Viktoria chuckled humourlessly as she walked up to Weiss' side - her gaze looking down at all the guests in deep thought. Weiss couldn't help but stare at the slightly pinked scar that ran down her mother's right eye. For the most part, it did look like it healed.

She then continued to watch as the white-haired woman lifted a hand to trace that very scar.

"Yes, it healed completely." Viktoria reassured Weiss as she turned to face her. But then the woman's expression soured quite a bit. "Jacques made sure of it. He didn't want anyone to see my 'horrid eye-patch,' and made me take some kind of medicine that mimics the healing ability of aura."

"What!?" Weiss' eyes widened in disbelief. "aura-use is a specialty skill that's limited to _trained_ hunstmen and huntresses! How did he-?"

"Honey, relax." The Schnee Matron swiftly interrupted her. "I said it _mimic's_ the healing ability of aura. I didn't actually activate it agh-!" She suddenly groaned and lifted a hand to massage her temple. Weiss immediately placed a comforting hand on her mother's back, and looked on at the woman in worry.

After that little spell, Viktoria smiled wryly. "The side effects of whatever he's been giving me are... an inconvenience, to say the least."

"Are you sure that you don't want to lay down somewhere?"

"N-No!" Viktoria exclaimed. She then quickly let out a calming breath. "I'll be alright, Weiss. Besides, it has to be _me_ who exposes him."

After a moment, Weiss simply sighed and nodded in response to her mother's decision. However, that didn't mean she wasn't going to exercise some caution.

"Fine." The white-haired girl relented. "But if I sense that it's all getting too much for you, then I'm forcing you to get some rest. I'll even get Kali to make you stop, if I have to."

Viktoria frowned at that. "You don't need to involve _Kali._ "

"Mother, she's _already_ involved." Weiss rolled her eyes, and scoffed. "Anyways, do you really think I'd need to tell her that something's off with how you're feeling? That woman has some kind of sixth sense when it comes to you. She'd figure it out herself, and make you rest either way."

The Schnee Matron chuckled at that. "I can't say that you're wrong."

"No. I am not."

Weiss let her gaze fall back to the crowd before them. As soon as she stared down onto the Ballroom, her eyes immediately connected with her father's. He was entertaining a group of guests in the social area and appeared to be in the middle of telling them an amusing anecdote - judging from their pompous laughter. Jacques was even laughing along with them too, and had a well-practiced smile plastered on his lips. But Weiss noted how his eyes were firmly trained on _her._

Despite his jovial demeanour, the young girl could tell the man was less than pleased with the fact that she and her mother were keeping to themselves on the balcony.

"Oh I seem to be hogging all of the spotlight this evening!" he belted loudly, projecting his voice so _all_ of their guests could hear him, "this night is supposed to be about my _dear daughter_."

As if on cue, the eyes of countless socialites stared right back up at Weiss. She briefly took note of the plastic smiles, or the blatant sneers being directed at her in that moment. A wave of silence slowly engulfed the ballroom, and soon, everyone appeared to be anticipating her response to Jacques' statement.

She took in a deep, calming breath and slowly let it out.

But it was her mother who spoke in her stead.

"Oh _Jacques,_ don't act as if you haven't been enjoying yourself while you've been in that 'spotlight!'" Viktoria 'playfully' quipped.

Her statement was followed by the feathery laughter of their guests. Now, it was Jacques' turn to continue on with this arbitrary banter that he instigated.

He simply laughed along with the crowd, and jokingly put up his arms in surrender. "Guilty as charged!"

The room filled with more laughter, but with a swift wave of his hand, Jacques controlled the atmosphere once more. "But we digress, _my love._ I just want our daughter to enjoy that 'spotlight,' too. So _please_ , hurry down and join us."

"Of course, _dear._ We'll be there in a moment."

Shortly after, the ballroom slowly began to fill with the socialites nonsensical banter again. The mood had immediately lightened, and their little passive-aggressive 'showdown' was soon forgotten. Regardless of the cessation of their interaction, the white-haired girl kept eye contact with her father. She could feel him silently threatening her from where he stood. His eyes held a sharp edge - daring her to do something that would embarrass him that night.

Weiss simply turned her back on the man, and smirked.

 _Oh father, you have no idea what's coming to you._

* * *

Kali's eyes swept the room in search for the man who started that needlessly public interaction with Vi and Weiss. Thankfully, they all made it in time to catch the tail-end of the Schnee's 'banter.'

Her ears twitched in irritation as the sound of the guests trivial chatter engulfed the ballroom, making it more difficult to concentrate on finding Jacques. She wanted to be aware on his location throughout the event. There was no way in hell she was going to let him sneak out at the off chance that he somehow found out about their plan.

Which was why they split up into small 'teams' for the night.

Raven and Summer were stationed near the massive doors that led into the ballroom - they were in charge of keeping tabs on who was going in and out of the area. The children - being Blake, Yang, Ruby, Velvet, and Coco - had the job of surveilling the perimeter of the ballroom. Apparently, there were was one known glass doorway that led to one of the gardens outside. So they decided to take turns on who would be on 'lookout' for the doorway, as the rest of the girls blended in with the crowd.

Kali and Winter were the ones who had the task of keeping an eye on Jacques on the dance floor - which was where the man was most likely going to be for the night. Naturally, both Weiss and Viktoria were going to be in the man's general vicinity, if not _with_ _him_ during the event. So, to an extent, they also shared the same job as the Belladonna Matron and the young Schnee woman.

Kali huffed when she _still_ couldn't pinpoint Jacques location.

 _Maybe I should find a clear vantage point of the dance floor... it's too crowded in the area that I'm standing in right now._

Just as the Faunus woman had that thought, she accidentally bumped into another guest.

"Oh! My apologies." Kali bowed politely towards whoever she collided with, and started to walk away without another thought.

"Hmm... your reflexes aren't nearly as fast as your _sister's_."

Kali immediately stopped in her tracks, and whipped her gaze to the woman who spoke.

"Salem."

The pale woman, who was clad in a blood-red evening gown, smirked devilishly at the Belladonna Matron.

"Kali."

"Sienna!"

Kali and Salem blankly stared at the Bengal Tigress who probably thought she was being funny at the moment. In response, Sienna smiled widely at them and held up her arms in defence. As the Belladonna stared at her cheeky sister, she took note of the woman's apparel. Sienna seemed to be wearing a form-fitting, black formal uniform of sorts.

Choosing to ignore Sienna's playfulness, both Kali and Salem turned to face each other once more.

"If you're looking for Jacques, he's by the stairwell that leads to the balcony."

Kali tensed up when the pale woman mentioned the Schnee Patriarch. However, she forced her surprise down and offered Salem a dazzling smile. "I'm not sure why you would think I'd be searching for _him_ , of all people. But thank you for letting me know, Salem." She then chuckled, "Now I know where _not_ to be during this party."

"You're welcome."

For a moment, the Faunus woman thought their interaction was going to end right there. However, that notion was proven wrong when Salem suddenly leaned in close and brought her lips to Kali's ear. The other woman's warm breath lingered against her Faunus ear, which caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up straight.

"I'm counting on you and your little friends to provide me with some entertainment for tonight," Salem whispered. "So _please_ , do put on a good show."

Before Kali could question Salem by what she meant, the woman had swiftly _walked away_. Without missing a beat, the Faunus woman directed her attention towards Sienna, who was simply smirking back at her with a mischievous gleam shining in her eyes.

"Did you-!?"

"I didn't." Sienna interrupted - the smirk never leaving her face. "Don't ask me how she found out. I truly don't know... But I'll tell you this, Kal: although Salem isn't on your side, she also isn't entirely on Jacques' side, either." The Bengal Tigress directed her gaze towards the pale woman on the dance floor, and regarded her thoughtfully. "I don't think she's going to pull anything over your plan to take him down. If anything, she's probably eager to see how it all pans out."

"H-How can I even _trust_ what you're telling me right now?!"

"Do you really think that you would've made it this far if Salem had told Jacques about what you guys were planning?"

The Belladonna Matron didn't even need to think about the answer to that question.

 _Sienna's right. If Jacques knew that we were here to expose him, then we wouldn't even be in the Schnee Estate right now._

However, she frowned thoughtfully and directed her own gaze towards Salem too.

 _Is that woman only involving herself with the Schnee's affairs just for the_ fun _of it!?_

If that were true, then- God, Kali didn't even know what to think of it! Who the hell toys with peoples lives for their own _entertainment!?_

Suddenly, the sound of a utensil repeatedly _clinking!_ against a wine glass ripped throughout the air. Deciding to end their conversation there, the Belladonna-Khan sisters slowly turned their heads towards the sound. The rest of the guests in the ballroom did the same, and soon, all of the chatter that was circulating around the room had ceased.

Everyone's attention was solely on the man at the far end of the ballroom. He was standing on a stage/platform with Viktoria and Weiss - all of them smiling brilliantly towards the crowd. If Kali didn't know any better, then she would've thought the Schnee's were a picture-perfect family. However, she _did_ know better. She was fully aware of how the Schnee's were far from perfect.

No, in reality, they were the very definition of dysfunction.

As the Faunus woman continued to focus on Viktoria specifically, she could see that something appeared to be a little... _off_ with her. There was a slight upturn to the white-haired woman's brows, and her smile seemed a little strained.

 _Is she hurt...?_

"Ahem!" Jacques abruptly cleared his throat, jolting Kali out of her thoughts. "I would like to formally thank you all for coming here tonight to celebrate this wondrous occasion with our family! And, although we haven't revealed what that 'occasion' is yet, I can assure you that it will be a pleasant surprise. My _beautiful_ _daughter_ can attest to that statement!"

Weiss let out a (scarily convincing) giggle at her father's words, and smiled coyly towards the guests. "Oh _father_ , stop teasing them already! Can't you see that they're all bubbling in anticipation for the big reveal?"

Many of the guests murmured in agreement to the white-haired girl's question. Jacques, on the other hand, bursted out in laughter and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Weiss, my dear daughter... don't you know that you must build _tension_ before you make a 'big reveal?' It adds more _fun_ to the whole process!"

His statement was followed by a bout of obnoxious laughter coming from some of the people in the ballroom. Kali had to resist the urge to scoff flippantly at how theatrical the bastard was acting at the moment. It was extremely _grating._

"I'm glad that some of our guests agree with me," Jacques commented, laughing along with them. "But again, I digress... this night was prepared for _all of you_ just as much as it was prepared for us." the snobbish man then gestured grandly towards the crowd. "So please let us all connect with one another in both wine and dance!"

At the prospect of wine, the room erupted in good-natured cheering and applause. The Schnee Patriarch simply bowed towards his audience, and promptly left the stage with his daughter and wife. Soon, the sound of the orchestra's classical music began to fill the ballroom. One by one, each of the guests paired up with their partners and swayed to the music.

From where she stood, Kali could see Viktoria dancing with Jacques.

She tried not to scowl at the sight.

Instead, she brought her attention back to her sister - who staring back at her with an endless amount of mirth swimming in her eyes.

Sienna smiled wickedly.

"It's time to dance."

* * *

 **Oh ya this 'party' is definitely going to be about 3 chapters long xD I hope I set the tone for the event nicely enough! Also, I've noticed that the last couple of chapters have been lacking severely in the WhiteRose and bumblebee dept. Soooo prepare yourselves, dear readers. I plan to crank that shit up in the next chapter (like a loooot xD).  
**

 **Also, I know this is a little late but... Happy New Year!**

 **Until next time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: LMAOO the fluff is strong in this one. Enjoy, dear readers!**

* * *

As Jacques finished his ridiculously theatrical announcement, the regal music started to fade into the Ballroom. The guests laughter slowly filled the large area, and mixed in with the music - creating more of a vibrant vibe for the party. Soon enough, the people around them paired up and gracefully danced with one another. However, as the atmosphere continued to change, Yang and the others silently stood there - not knowing what to do with themselves.

"I'll take first watch of the glass doorway." Ruby droned.

The redhead stalked away before any of the girls could volunteer for the role in her stead. With deciding who gets first watch out of the way, the brown-haired couple simply followed suit with the rest of the crowd and walked to a different part of the ballroom to mingle.

Yang, on the other hand, stared on at her little sister's receding form with a mildly confused grin. "What's with her?"

"Take a good look at who's dancing on the dance floor and you'll find out."

Quirking a brow, the blonde followed Blake's suggestion and directed her gaze towards the said dance floor. She drawled out a small 'oh' when she saw who their little _Weiss-princess_ was dancing with amongst the crowd of socialites. From an outsiders perspective, a person might've been convinced that Weiss genuinely enjoyed herself as she danced with Cinder - judging from the beaming smile that she directed towards the dark-haired girl. Hell, the blonde could also see Viktoria wearing a similarly vibrant smile as she danced with Jacques too.

However, Yang knew that their smiles held no meaning beneath them.

It was all just for show.

"Wow, both Weiss and her mom are really good at, uh... 'playing the part.'"

Blake chuckled mirthlessly at Yang's observation. "They've been to countless parties like this before. So they've had years of practice, I guess."

The blonde turned her head to face the girl next to her.

"Yeah, no kiddi- _whoa._ "

Her breath got caught in her throat when she actually focused on Blake. Sure, she saw the Faunus girl earlier when they met up at the entranceway, but she couldn't exactly take the time to actually appreciate her appearance.

Now that she was right in front of her, Yang couldn't help but stand in awe as she drank in the sight that was Blake Belladonna.

Blake's deep purple night-gown shimmered against the light with a subtle elegance. It shone in such a way that made it seem like the girl wore a piece of the galaxy itself - hypnotizing whoever laid their eyes on her. Underneath the soft incandescent glow of the chandelier, Yang found herself being utterly enchanted by Blake's beauty. It didn't hit her all at once. No, it was one of those things- those _feelings_ where it slowly encompassed all of her senses.

From the faint glow of the Faunus girl's amber eyes reflecting off the lights, to the smoothness of her tanned skin, to the subtle scent of lavender that always seemed to emanate from her toned, lithe body. In that moment, all Yang could focus on was Blake. All Yang could _see_ was Blake.

Blake caught onto her staring, and adorably cocked her head to the side in curiosity.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No... it's just your face."

The Faunus girl quirked a brow at her. "Is my face what's wrong?"

"W-What!? N-NO!" Yang immediately backtracked on her words. "There's absolutely _nothing_ wrong with your face! You've actually got a really pretty face- the prettiest I've ever seen! In fact, your face is so freaking pretty that whenever I see you I-!" She halted her word-vomit when she realized how _lame_ she was acting. Despite her botched up response, it didn't stop her from finishing her jumbled train of thought.

"-I... end up forgetting how to speak, and make a total mess of my words." Yang finished weakly.

 _Oh my God, I sound like an idiot._

She would've buried her head in her hand in shame, but then she felt Blake's arms slowly wrap around her shoulders. Yang could only stare down at the Faunus girl with an embarrassed, lopsided grin. Smiling back at her, Blake pulled her close and then buried her face against Yang's shoulder. This caused one of the girl's Faunus ears to brush up on the side of Yang's face, and tickle her a little bit.

"Just put your arms around my waist, and dance with me already... you _dork._ "

The blonde simply chuckled and did as she was told.

Yang sighed in content when Blake melted into her embrace. For a while, they both swayed to the music and basked in the intimacy of this silent moment that they had to themselves. It was like they entered their own little dimension momentarily, unshackled from the pressures of life's problems (or in their case: the pressures of exposing the corrupted owner of a multi-billion lien company). Everything else seemed to fade away into the background as they held one another. Right now, it was just Yang and Blake.

"What do you think is gonna be the probability of your mom proposing to Weiss' mom within the next week?"

Blake pulled back to face Yang, and arched a brow at her random question. Nevertheless, she answered her. "One hundred percent."

"You sound pretty confident about those odds, Blakey."

"I am _very_ confident about those odds, Yang." Blake confirmed - smiling knowingly. "Don't tell anyone, but I caught my mom browsing through one of those engagement ring catalogues last night."

Yang let out a scandalized gasp. "No _way_! Then what was all of that about 'waiting' for the right time?"

"I think Summer knocked some sense into her when she called her out on her 'crap reasoning.'"

In response, the blonde chuckled at the mention of her Mom's blunt opinion on Kali's relationship with Viktoria. Usually, Summer wasn't the type of person to get riled up about the affairs of others, but apparently Kali hit some kind of nerve in her yesterday. It was actually pretty funny seeing her Mom act so uncharacteristically angry at the Faunus woman. Personally, she agreed with Summer... but unlike her Mom, she didn't want to punch Kali in the face for not acting on her desire and 'being a pussy cat.'

"Oooh when they do get married, does that mean you're gonna change your last name to Belladonna-Schnee?"

Blake regarded her question thoughtfully, and shrugged. "Probably? That's definitely what's gonna show up on official documents." she then snorted. "Honestly, it sounds like Weiss and I could be the ones getting married when our surnames are combined like that."

Yang knew she didn't mean anything by it, but she couldn't help but frown at the thought of Blake being married to someone else. Sensing the change in her demeanour, Blake caressed her cheek and snapped Yang out of her thoughts. Instead, she focused on the Faunus girl in front of her, and blissfully leaned into her touch.

"Of course, Weiss' last name isn't the one that I want."

Yang froze when Blake teased her with that statement. She stood, slightly doe-eyed, at what the Faunus girl suggested through her words. Soon, Yang could feel the sensation of a thousand hummingbirds fluttering within her chest - a disbelieving, but _elated_ smile slowly inched its way onto her face. A surge of boldness seemed to encompass her, and then she remembered something that her Ma once told her Mom.

She decided that she'd try to apply Raven's 'words of wisdom' here.

"Well, I hope not because," Yang expertly twirled Blake around in a circle, and then dipped her down. "The only surname that you're going to be taking is _mine_."

The blonde inwardly puffed up in triumph when she could see the hints of a blush slowly forming on her girlfriend's cheeks. Yang then winked at the surprised Faunus girl, and flashed her a brilliant smile. "Unless you want to hyphenate our last names, of course. Then I'm fine with that too."

Once Yang lifted her upright again, Blake gathered her bearings and returned Yang's smile - albeit more bashfully.

"T-That's a pretty bold statement to make, Yang."

"Well it's more, or less, a rendition of something my Ma once declared to my Mom to 'sweep her off her feet' back in the day," the blonde admitted shyly. "It worked for her back then, so I figured that I'd give it a try and see if it'd work for me now..." Yang pulled Blake close, and then gazed at her with unfiltered warmth. "So did it? Y'know... work?"

Her smile widened when Blake pressed their foreheads together.

"Yeah. It did." Blake answered her, chuckling softly. "Consider my feet effectively swept."

They both collapsed into a fit of giggles and continued to dance to the music after that. However, Blake flitted her gaze towards something off to the side and her smile faltered a little bit. Yang caught onto the change in her expression, and followed the girl's gaze in curiosity. Her eyes widened marginally in surprise when she saw what had captured the Faunus girl's attention momentarily.

 _Is that... Ilia?_

The Chameleon-Faunus in question wore the same black uniform as Sienna, and stood at the outskirts of the dance floor - staring intensely at something in the middle of it. As Yang tried to search for what Ilia was focusing on, she found herself gazing at Weiss and Cinder. That alone raised _more_ questions, and she stared thoughtfully back at the reptile Faunus.

"I guess she got out of jail. That's... good." Blake commented evenly. Despite her blank expression, the slight droop in her Faunus ears betrayed how she truly felt about seeing Ilia.

Sensing that Blake obviously wanted to speak with the other girl, Yang quickly blew against one of Blake's Faunus ears - which caused her (and her ears) to jolt upright in surprise.

"Yang, what the heck-?!"

"Go talk to her, Blake."

Blake stared back at her thoughtfully, but soon a warm and thankful smile graced the Faunus girl's lips.

Suddenly, Yang found herself being pulled into a kiss. She closed her eyes and leaned into it, appreciating the pleasant softness of Blake's lips. When she pulled away, Yang couldn't help but grin.

"Thanks, Yang. I'll be right back."

Yang lifted her hand and gently caressed Blake's cheek. "I'll be waiting."

With that, Blake walked away to have a much needed talk with one Ilia Amitola.

"Oh and Yang?"

The blonde directed her attention back at her Faunus girlfriend, and cocked her head to the side. "Yeah?"

"Belladonna-Xiao Long does have a nice _ring_ to it, yeah?"

Yang barked out a laugh at the subtle pun the Faunus girl made, and smiled widely at her. In that moment, she could feel that she had one of those dopey grins plastered on her face - the kind that made her look like an utterly smitten dork.

 _Oh yeah... she's definitely The One._

"Yeah. Belladonna-Xiao Long sounds purr-fect."

* * *

Blake strode across the Ballroom hall purposefully with her target in clear view. She honestly wasn't expecting to see _Ilia_ , of all people, to show up at this party. Initially, she felt relief when she saw the reptile Faunus because that meant she _wasn't_ being deported back to Menagerie. However, that relief was short-lived and replaced with the overwhelming urge to get _answers_ from the other Faunus girl.

As she closed in on Ilia, she took note of how utterly _bored_ the Chameleon-Faunus looked while she watched over Weiss and Cinder. Although her focus was solely on the pair of girls dancing on the dance floor, it was more than obvious that Ilia would rather have been anywhere else but here. The profoundly _dull_ glaze that threatened to enter the Faunus girl's eyes could attest to that statement.

"Hey, Ilia."

Ilia frowned slightly at being randomly addressed. However, her eyes widened in surprise when she realized just _who_ had called out to her.

"B-Blake!" Ilia exclaimed. She then gulped audibly, but nevertheless smiled at the Cat-Faunus - albeit awkwardly. "I-Er...Hey."

Blake returned the girl's smile and opened her mouth to continue the conversation... but then she snapped it shut. In hindsight, she probably should've planned this out a little better. She didn't even know how she was going to _leeway_ into asking Ilia about why she did the things she did. Blake was pretty sure starting out the conversation with 'Hey, so what's the deal with you and Adam breaking my girlfriends arm and trashing her store?' would've been quite jarring.

"I'm guessing you've got some questions for me."

 _Well... that made this ten times easier._

"Yeah, quite a few."

Ilia nodded curtly, and directed her gaze back to the dance floor. "Alright... shoot."

"First: how did you get out of jail?" The Faunus girl slowly began. "You didn't break out, did you?"

"No I didn't break out." Ilia snorted - a trace of a smile graced her lips. "Actually, I was _bailed_ out... by your aunt, Sienna."

Blake nodded in understanding when Ilia revealed that fact. It actually made a lot of sense, considering they both worked for Salem to some capacity before the whole debacle with the Rose-Branwen's store. Apparently, taking in stray teenagers was a bit of a trend that her mom and Sienna liked to take part in.

"So I'm assuming that has something to do with why you're wearing the same uniform as her."

"Yeah... it's kind of part of the deal that she set up with Salem." Ilia confirmed, sighing heavily. "She's going to be paying for my education at Beacon now, so I won't be there on a scholarship anymore. I'm not gonna be able to enrol again until next semester."

"Oh, does that mean you won't be on the gymnastics team when you get back?"

"I have try out for the team... but I don't think I'll have any problems with getting back on it." The Chameleon-Faunus stated confidently, but then she let out a tired smile. "Honestly, I'm more worried about the terms that Salem's got me on in exchange for bailing me out. She wants me to work for her and be _Cinder's_ personal bodyguard while I go to school. On top of that, she required that I maintain a freaking eighty percent average in my academics!"

"Wait, don't scholarship kids only have to maintain a seventy average to stay in their programs?"

"Yeah! But Salem's got some insane standards." Ilia grumbled, directing her gaze back to Blake. After a moment, the Chameleon-Faunus sighed and offered her a small, but knowing smile. "Got any more questions?"

Blake swallowed thickly when she knew that Ilia wanted her to ask what she _really_ came to get answers for. Deciding to just rip the band-aid off, Blake jumped right into it.

"Ilia... er- with Yang, why did you-?"

"Because I know that you'll never look at me the way that you look at her."

Blake's eyes widened in shock when Ilia admitted that so quickly. She can't deny that a small part of her might've known that Ilia still harboured some feelings for her. But with the way things were - at least in Blake's perspective, it just seemed like Ilia wanted to spend time with her as a friend.

 _No... that's wrong. I just didn't want to acknowledge that she had feelings for me._

Blake had been so focused on building a connection with Yang that she kind of let Ilia... fade into the background. But, that's how things were when it came to Yang Xiao Long. Whenever she was in the presence of the radiant girl, all Blake could focus on was _her._ Even when they danced, everything else seemed to fade away.

 _Ugh, wait. I'm getting sidetracked._

When Blake continued to blatantly _stare_ at Ilia, the colour of the other Faunus girl's face - scales and all - slowly transformed into a bright pink hue. Soon, Ilia began to fidget under Blake's scrutiny. That's when she realized she hadn't said a word back to Ilia at all. Snapping out of her stupor, Blake resolved that she was going to take the other Faunus girl seriously. She deserved that much, at the very least.

 _Ilia gathered the courage to be honest with me about her feelings. I need to do the same thing and be honest with her, too_ _._

Blake could only smile apologetically at the reptile Faunus. "I'm so sorry... but Ilia, you know that I'm with-"

"You don't need to go through the trouble of rejecting me, Blake. I already know that I never stood a chance." Ilia interrupted her once more - smiling wryly. "I just- I let my jealousy get in the way of my judgement, and made some really shitty choices about how I'd go on about being with you." She then ran a hand through her hair and chuckled mirthlessly. "It got to the point where I forgot why I was at Beacon Academy in the first place."

Blake gazed at Ilia with nonjudgemental eyes, and let her silence prompt the girl to continue on.

Ilia appeared to struggle with what she was going to say next. Soon, the Chameleon-Faunus took in a deep, calming breath and exhaled sharply. "Blake, I can't even begin to express how _sorry_ I am for putting you and your friends through all of this. I understand if you don't want anything to do with me and-!"

"Wait, Ilia. Let me talk." Blake cut in. She didn't want to have this conversation with Ilia so she could be vindictive about what happened.

Ilia's mouth snapped shut, and she listened to Blake in earnest.

"I don't know if I can completely forgive you yet - simply put: what you did was pretty bad, like seriously bad; and honestly? I don't think _I'm_ the one you should be apologizing to." Blake started. When she saw that Ilia slumped over, she went to firmly place a hand the other girl's shoulder. "But I want you to know that I _don't_ hate you, Ilia. So if you ever see me in the hallway at school, don't act like a stranger... Okay?"

Ilia gave her a hopeful, but shy smile. "Okay."

"Hey, if you're done talking with my servant, could I have her back?"

Blake and Ilia immediately whipped their heads around to face the girl who abruptly joined them. Blake frowned when she saw that it was _Cinder_ who had spoken. Despite her disdain for the girl, Blake had to admit that she looked great in her black long-sleeved evening gown. She was about to jump at Ilia's defence when she realized the demeaning comment Cinder made about her, but was beat to it.

"Cinder, I'm not your servant _._ I am your _bodyguard._ " Ilia huffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "So stop calling me that!"

Blake actually quirked a brow at the disrespectful tone Ilia took with Cinder. Considering the girl was basically Ilia's employer, she would've thought the Chameleon-Faunus would try to act... well, nicer to her. Cinder, on the other hand, didn't look offended by Ilia's tone at all. If anything, she appeared to be entertained by it.

Cinder smirked at the reptile Faunus. "Would you prefer it if I called you my personal 'lava lamp?'"

"The hell do you mean by 'personal lava-' EEK!?"

Blake watched, dumbfounded, as Cinder slowly slid a hand down Ilia's back - stopping just above the girl's backside. Ilia stood frozen, with her eyes widened in shock - the colour of her face slowly changing back into a bright, pink hue once more. Honestly, Blake would've laughed at her reaction... if it weren't for the fact it was _Cinder_ who was making Ilia act all flustered.

"Seeing as you change colours like one, I believe the name fits."

When Ilia finally came to, she immediately started to sputter an incoherent but angry retort back at Cinder. The girl who was being reprimanded simply gazed back at the reptile Faunus with amusement and an uncharacteristic, gentle smile.

 _What... the hell is going on._

Remembering that Blake was still there, Cinder turned towards her with narrowed eyes.

"Don't you have a little scheme to pull off?"

"Wha-?!" Blake stared back at her, bewildered. "H-How do _you kn-_ "

"Bye."

Before the Faunus girl could even question her properly, Cinder had (rather rudely) walked away - dragging Ilia along with her. Blake simply stared at their receding forms in utter confusion for a moment, but then opted to regroup with Yang. Maybe the blonde could help her process what the _hell_ just happened; and apparently, Cinder _knew_ what they were at the party for...? She didn't even know what to think of _that._

 _No. Don't start panicking. Knowing Cinder, she would've done something already to mess with our plans._

Her eyes searched for Yang along the outskirts of the dance floor. She quickly spotted the familiar sight of the girl's blonde mane and walked towards her. As she neared her girlfriend, she noticed they were in the general area that was close to the glass doorway. She also took note of how Ruby wasn't there guarding it.

"Yang, where's Ruby?" Just as she asked Yang that question, she saw a familiar head of alabaster hair slip behind the curtains that led to the glass exit. "Was that Weiss who just walked through the glass doorway? And what's Winter doing guarding the door?"

"Don't worry about it, Blakey." Yang answered her - smiling mischievously. "It's just us big sisters doing our little sisters a favour."

Blake wiped a hand across her face in mild exasperation, and sighed. This night just went in so many directions in such a short amount of time that she could feel herself suffering from some kind of mental whiplash. Despite the turn of events, Blake decided to roll with it. If Winter was part of this little ploy to let Ruby and Weiss briefly have a rendezvous, then it was probably going to be okay.

She stared at the glass doorway, smiling exasperatedly.

 _They couldn't wait until_ after _the party to see each other?_

* * *

 _Ahh! I can't wait to see her!_

Ruby stood in the moon-lit courtyard, waiting patiently for Weiss to meet with her. She could hear the faint sound of the classical music playing from behind the glass doors. The ballroom's incandescent lights dimly shone through the windows - adding onto the natural light provided by the moon. Suddenly, a small gust of wind blew past her, making her thankful that she decided to wear a tux to the party.

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she gazed up at the full moon - deep in thought.

Throughout the night, Ruby could feel her frustration slowly build as she watched the way Weiss had to act during the party.

Everything was so... _orchestrated_ and downright uppity! It was suffocating. She had no idea how Weiss could stand being around such pompous people for so long. She also couldn't believe how _convincing_ the white-haired girl had acted in their presence, too. It was clear to Ruby that Weiss had been through this before. Her well-practiced smiles, her flawless posture, and even the way she freaking _talked_ was perfect to a 'T!'

The redhead furrowed her brows.

 _I wonder how many times Weiss had to act like the perfect daughter for her family..._

"Ruby?" Weiss whispered loudly. "Is... Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's m-oomf!"

Weiss all but rammed into Ruby before she could properly confirm that it was her. Quickly recovering from the shock of having the wind knocked outta her, Ruby promptly wrapped her arms around the shorter girl. She grinned when Weiss leaned into her embrace.

Soon, she could feel Weiss shaking in her arms.

"Whoa... Weiss, are you cold?"

"No, th-that's not it..." Weiss shakily answered, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's just been a long time since I had to speak in front of a bunch of socialites like that... I-I think it might've been too much for me to handle all at once."

"Oh Weiss..." Ruby tightened her arms around the white-haired girl in comfort. She actively fought against the urge to march back into the Ballroom and throat punch every single socialite there. Instead of acting on that desire, she pulled back to plant a kiss on Weiss' forehead.

"You're doing great, Weiss." Ruby reassured her. "You just need to hold out for a little longer, it'll all be over soon."

"I know," Weiss sighed, burying her head against Ruby's shoulder. "Just let me recharge for a bit."

"Recharge? What am I - a battery charger?"

"Yes you are." Weiss muffled cheekily from her shoulder. "Now shut up and let me recharge. It's been a long night."

Ruby simply giggled at the white-haired girl's behaviour and let her have her way.

 _And Weiss says that_ I'm _the one who has the problem with acting 'shamelessly endearing.'_

They stayed in each other's arms for a while and basked in the warmth of this moment. It had been a _week_ too long since Ruby had held the white-haired girl in her arms. She didn't want to let go.

Finally, Weiss pulled back and gazed at Ruby so tenderly that she made her heart skip a beat.

"Dance with me, Ruby Rose."

Ruby beamed at the girl, "I thought you'd never ask."

She swiftly slid her hands around Weiss' waist, pulling her close. Acting accordingly, Weiss placed her arms around Ruby's shoulders and they started to sway to the faint sound of the classical music. The atmosphere around the girls slowly transformed into one of serenity while they danced with one another. As Ruby gazed into Weiss' clear azure eyes, she couldn't help but be captivated by their raw beauty. They seemed to invite her in - encouraging her to drown in their-

Suddenly, she cut off her train of thought and inwardly scoffed at herself.

 _Jeez... since when was I this poetically gay? Her eyes are just really freaking beautiful - that's it! Well... actually they're not the only beautiful thing about her. There's her hair, and the entirety of her face, and her dress..._

She softened her gaze as she admired the girl in front of her.

 _Everything. Everything about Weiss is beautiful._

"Goodness, Ruby." Weiss suddenly spoke, jolting the redhead back to reality. Ruby noticed that a faint, pink hue dusted the girl's cheeks - and an exasperated but warm smile graced her lips. "I wish you could see the way you look at me. I can literally see the hearts in your eyes."

Ruby scoffed playfully and gave Weiss a pointed look. "Well could you blame me? Weiss, you look stunning. You're like... y'know, like-!" She huffed at herself in frustration. " _Where_ are my poetically gay thoughts when I need them-mff?!"

Weiss abruptly grabbed at Ruby's tie, and pulled her down for a kiss - effectively shutting the redhead up. When the white-haired girl's lips separated from her own, Ruby couldn't help but give her a dopey smile.

"I get what you're trying to say, Ruby. Thank you." Weiss said as she caressed her cheek. She then scoffed drily. "I hate to admit it, but Jacques has exquisite taste when it comes to picking out dresses."

A frown made it's way onto her face at the latter part of Weiss' statement. Mostly because... well-

"It looks like a wedding dress." Ruby stated thoughtlessly - the frown never leaving her face.

And a beautiful wedding dress, at that. Specifically, Weiss wore a white, lacy evening gown that had an off-the-shoulder, sweetheart neckline. Honestly, when Ruby first saw Weiss that night, her breath got taken away by how _beautiful_ she looked. However, when she realized _who_ Weiss was supposed to be dressed for, jealousy rammed into Ruby like a flipping eighteen-wheeler truck.

 _Ugh! I know that she's not actually going to go through with it... but the thought of her being engaged to someone else just bothers me!_

Weiss regarded her observation thoughtfully. "The purpose of this night was to announce my engagement to Cinder, so it makes sense that he chose a dress that _resembles_ a-" she cut herself off, and a dawn of realization swept over her facial features. Shortly after, Weiss stared back at Ruby - playfully scandalized. "Wait... Ruby Rose, are you _jealous_?"

"W-Wha!? _No._ I'm not _jealous!_ " Ruby crossed her arms indignantly, and pouted.

"You don't need to be-"

Ruby threw her arms up in exasperation. "I'm noooot!"

"W-Would you stop flailing around, you dolt!" Weiss swiftly grabbed both of Ruby's hands and held them in her own. "Anyways, you already know that I don't want to get married to _Cinder_ \- of all people."

Ruby simply stared back at the girl thoughtfully... but then a grin made its way onto her face.

"Good." She brought Weiss' left hand to her lips, and planted a kiss on her ring finger, "because this spot right here is reserved for the ring that _I'll_ be giving you in the future."

The white-haired girl gasped at what Ruby insinuated with her words. "Wh-What are you-?"

"I think you know what I'm trying to say, Weiss."

 _Tap! Tap! Tap!_

Both of the girl's turned their heads towards the sound and simultaneously sighed.

"That's Winter." Weiss stated.

"I know."

"Which means-"

"I know." Ruby repeated, directing her gaze back into the Schnee Estate. "It's time."

* * *

 **Was... Was that fluffy enough for you guys? Also, as a sidenote, Ruby and Yang didn't actually propose to Weiss and Blake per se. They were just acting like a couple of queer girls in love, making cute promises and whatnot. Aaanyways... t** **his arc is finally reaching its climax guys! and lemme tell you, it's gonna be wylin xD Y'all better get ready for the next chapter!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	47. Chapter 47

**D-D-Draaamaaaa!** **Enjoy, dear readers~**

* * *

Summer sighed in relief when Weiss returned to the Ballroom in one piece - with Jacques none the wiser about her brief absence from the party.

A couple of minutes ago, the classical music started to fade in volume and altogether stopped, signifying that the night was about to make another transition. During that time, her love-sick daughter was still outside with Weiss... doing whatever the hell it was that love-sick daughters do. Summer thought the act in itself was cute, if not slightly irresponsible. Actually, no. It was completely irresponsible! Summer was about ready to drag the girls back in the Ballroom. Their little rendezvous could have _waited._

"Those crazy kids couldn't have waited until _after_ the party to see each other?"

"Relax, Sum. They're young and in _love_." Raven defended their daughter's adorable, but stupid, decision as she offered her some finger-foods. Summer politely declined. "Anyways, Jacques has been so far up his own ass that I doubt he even noticed Weiss was gone."

Summer chuckled humourlessly at her wife's statement. "You're absolutely right."

All throughout the night Jacques had been talking up a storm with a large group of his business associates. Every once in a while, Summer caught wind of their conversations - and each time she did, she had to resist the urge to suplex a businessperson right into a dinner table. Almost all of the topics they would discuss involved their (obviously one-sided) opinions on Faunus' and their rights - especially with respect to the labour force.

She had no idea how Sienna could just stand by and listen to all their crap.

The poor Bengal Tigress had been subjected to being in their presence for a good portion of the party. Unfortunately, she didn't have a choice. She had to shadow Salem (who was part of the group) as her bodyguard. At a point, one of the businessmen actually had the nerve to bring up Sienna's past association with the White Fang. Surprisingly enough, Salem ended that discussion.

Summer's gaze found its way onto one Viktoria Schnee, who had also been in Jacques presence for the duration of this party.

A frown graced her lips when she saw what her friend was holding in her hand.

"I've been keeping count of how many she's been having."

"And how much would that be?" Summer asked her wife - the frown never leaving her face.

"Only two glasses," Raven promptly answered. "Not enough to have an actual effect on her."

"She shouldn't be having any at all."

"I know." Raven gazed at the white-haired woman with her brows furrowed in thought, "but... according Jacques she's still his pathetic, alcoholic wife. It'd be out of character if she _didn't_ have a wine glass in her hand."

"You and I both know that she isn't _drinking_ to 'play' the freaking part, Rae." Summer flared.

"I _know that,_ Summer. But what do you want us to do about it?! We can't just barge in there and knock the damn glass out of her hand!"

She let Raven's words hang in the air. In the end, all Summer did was exhale sharply and stand there in frustrated silence. As she attempted to de-escalate her bubbling emotions, she couldn't help but feel worried over the fact that Vi was drinking. She wouldn't have been so bothered by it if weren't today, of all _freaking_ days! That woman needed to be _focused._

She also knew first-hand how _bad_ Viktoria could get when she drank.

 _I'm positive Jacques wouldn't even bat an eye if she didn't have a drink in her hand. He hasn't directly spoken a word to her ever since he finished his stupid toast!_

Raven snaked an arm around Summer's waist and tilted her chin up, jolting her out of her spiralling thoughts. She pouted up at the woman.

"You gotta have more faith in her." Raven started, playfully rolling her eyes at Summer's behaviour. "Vi isn't stupid enough to get completely trashed... at least not today."

Summer sighed in resignation. Her gaze softened as she slowly calmed down. "You're right. But... Rae, she has a legitimate _problem_ with alcohol. Sometimes, she can be worse than _Qrow_ , which says a lot considering how bad he usually is. If Vi's serious about quitting, she shouldn't even be _touching_ a drink."

Raven huffed, and broke eye contact with her in response. If it was because she was annoyed at the fact that Summer was right or insistent on talking about the matter, the redhead didn't know. She felt a twinge of guilt because she knew Qrow's alcoholism was still a touchy subject for Raven. However, instead of continuing the conversation, her wife opted to gaze back onto the dance floor.

Summer raised a brow when Raven's eyes seemed to widen in shock. Curious, she followed her line of sight.

But when she did, well-

 _What in the ever loving hell is Kali doing!?_

She turned her head just in time to catch Kali sauntering her way towards the group of businesspeople. When the Faunus woman made herself known, she was more - or less so, definitely less so - greeted with borderline sneers. She ignored them all with poise and continued to step right into Viktoria's personal space. The Schnee Matron gaped at Kali, seemingly at a loss for words.

While this happened, Jacques silently stood there - eyeing the Faunus woman evenly.

Summer and Raven listened to the interaction with bated breath.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Ms. Belladonna."

Kali smiled politely at the Schnee Patriarch. "Oh I just noticed that your wife's glass was almost empty and the servers haven't refilled it for her yet." She chuckled, nonchalantly snatching the wine glass out of Viktoria's hand as she held Jacques' gaze. The Faunus woman took a sip. "Also, I couldn't help but overhear your discussion about the labour camps in Atlas, and I would love to input my own opinion on the matter."

After a moment of silence, Jacques let out a hearty laugh. "Ah, so the incentive reveals itself."

"I'm not quite sure what you mean." Kali responded evenly.

"You want to debate about the ethics of the SDC labour camps in Atlas, do you not? I can assure you that our company provides the workers - be it Faunus or human alike - with the highest quality living standards and fair benefits. So, in my _humble opinion,_ a resource such as your little _'Faunus Rights Association'_ isn't needed there." He paused, smirking mockingly at the Belladonna Matron. "Unless you truly came here just to relinquish my wife's glass from her. If that's the case then... maybe I should've hired you along with the rest of the servers here."

Summer clenched her fists when the businesspeople and socialites laughed at Jacques' underhanded remark. Sienna took a step towards the man, but was swiftly held back by Salem. The others didn't seem to notice. Kali, however, light-heartedly laughed _along_ with the group - effectively ruining the 'fun' for some of them. Even Jacques narrowed his eyes at the Faunus woman.

"Well maybe you should have," Kali playfully quipped as she held the glass up to her lips once more. "Considering the subpar service that your workers have been providing throughout the night, I'm positive I would've done a better job."

 _That_ stopped the group's laughter altogether.

Rather than continuing the banter, Jacques scoffed flippantly.

The tension in the air around them grew with each passing second. Summer wasn't sure if someone should've intervened at that point or not. Despite being the one who created that tension, Kali cut right through it by chuckling softly.

"It would seem that I've overstayed my welcome." Kali stated, mimicking the Schnee Patriarch's smirk. "I'll be taking my leave now. It was a pleasure as always, Jacques."

"Of course, Ms. Belladonna. The sentiment is reciprocated," Jacques' replied. "Please, enjoy the rest of the party."

The Belladonna Matron left the group without another word. Summer then watched, dumbfounded, as they continued on with the night as if Kali never joined them. When her gaze fell back on the Faunus woman, she took note of how her polite smile transformed into a small scowl. Roughly, Kali continued on to set the drink on top of a small, vacant table and then walked along the dance floor.

As Kali neared them, Summer greeted her with a sympathetic smile - one of which was returned, albeit more tiredly. Raven let out a low whistle.

"I can't believe you went through all of that torture just to get that drink out of her hand."

"She shouldn't be drinking that garbage." Kali frowned, crossing her arms as she held Raven's gaze. "Does she seem a little off to you guys?"

Raven shrugged. "The hell if I know, Kal. Although, I doubt two glasses of wine would do any real damage."

"No, I don't think it's the alcohol," the Faunus woman muttered under her breath - her ears flattening as she looked off to the side. "I hope she's ready to do this..."

 _Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!_

The sound of cutlery tapping against a wine glass suddenly tore through the air. The guests chatter began to fade away as their attention was brought to the man who stood at the head table across the ballroom. Kali and Raven turned to follow the sound - their shoulders tense, but their expressions determined. Summer followed suit with them.

"Well, this night's going on whether she's prepared for it or not." Summer said as she directed her gaze towards the Schnee's. "And if she's not ready, then we'll help her along the way. Just like we promised."

* * *

Viktoria mentally prepared herself during the time Jacques tapped on his wine glass.

She tried not to shake in her seat as the Ballroom quieted down. She took in a deep breath, and slowly let it out - in an attempt to keep her nerves at bay. Viktoria found herself completing this process multiple times during this party. Despite having been through all of this in the past, she still couldn't say that she was used to speaking with this many people all at once. The amount of social etiquette rules that she had to keep up with... it was draining.

Soon, Viktoria began to seek out a certain Cat-Faunus woman amongst the crowd. She spotted her with Raven and Summer on the outskirts of the dance floor.

That small stunt Kali pulled earlier left her speechless. Originally, the Faunus woman was supposed to give her the memory stick holding all of Jacques' secrets _later_. So when Kali swiftly switched her wine glass out for the small device - right in front of her husband no less - Viktoria was thrown in for a loop. Kali had done it so casually that she almost didn't notice it was in her hand!

All of the children regrouped with the Belladonna Matron and the Rose-Branwen pair, awaiting Jacques' announcement. A small wave of calm washed over her when she saw them. It was reassuring, knowing that she wasn't going through this alone.

"Where were you, child."

Viktoria brought her attention back to Jacques, who rudely addressed her daughter.

Weiss rolled her eyes as she rejoined them at the head table. "Does that matter? I'm here _now._ "

"Just answer my question, you disrespectful-!"

"She was with me."

Viktoria's brows rose as Cinder appeared to come out of nowhere from behind Weiss. She then watched as the young girl snaked her arms around her daughter's waist. Without missing a beat, Weiss played along and leaned into Cinder's embrace.

"We just wanted a little time alone to ourselves," Cinder explained as she brought her lips to Weiss' left ear. "Isn't that right?"

Despite herself, Weiss flushed. Viktoria couldn't tell if it was because she felt irritated or genuinely flustered by the other girl's actions.

"Y-Yeah..." Weiss confirmed - her expression hardening as she stared back at Jacques. "Would you like to _know_ what we were-"

" _Please_ , spare me the details."

Viktoria almost frowned at the unfiltered disgust in Jacques' tone. However, before any of the women could comment on it, she noticed that the talking within the Ballroom had essentially ceased. Soon, the Schnee's held everybody's undivided attention.

Jacques completely transformed his demeanour and smiled jovially towards the crowd. Viktoria and Weiss followed suit with the man's actions - turning to face their audience with dazzling smiles of their own. She briefly took note of how Cinder removed herself from Weiss, but nevertheless addressed the crowd in a similar manner too.

"How are my guests doing this evening?" Jacques asked the socialites with unnecessary zeal. "Are the _services_ that we've provided you to your liking?"

Their guests let out good-natured exclamations of affirmation. Viktoria also heard the laughter of some of the businessmen who caught on to Jacques' reference. She resisted the urge to sigh. Of _course_ he couldn't leave Kali's comment well enough alone.

Jacques' hummed - directing his gaze towards the Faunus woman standing at the outskirts of the dance floor. "I believe _your_ services won't be needed then, Ms. Belladonna."

The laughter turned into passive-aggressive jeers. In spite of the ridicule, Kali playfully raised her arms to her sides in surrender and smiled back at the man. She heard her husband quietly scoff. He probably expected the Faunus woman to react aggressively to his statement. Truthfully, Viktoria was expecting her to say something back to him too. She couldn't even fathom how Kali could be so endlessly _tolerant_ of the treatment she received that night.

Jacques raised a hand to grab everyone's attention once more.

"Now, I'm assuming that our guests are wondering what our 'special announcement' is..." he chuckled, turning to face Cinder. "However, I'm sure Ms. Fall's presence here gives away some of the answer."

"I smell a merger~" came an obnoxious socialite's voice.

Another person let out a playfully scandalized gasp, "with Salem's Faction?!"

Jacques simply grinned at the crowd. He didn't confirm or deny their speculation about the matter. The Schnee Patriarch just let the guests continue on with their speculative chatter, the volume of their voices increasing with each passing moment. Viktoria knew that he wanted to make this as dramatic as possible.

She used this time to get rid of any residual nerves she had. As she stared out towards the crowd, she found herself searching for her friends and family. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise when she immediately connected with Kali's gaze. The Faunus woman's expression was gentle but determined. A small smile graced Kali's lips as they stared at one another. She then nodded minutely, giving Viktoria permission to expose Jacques as she saw fit.

That was all the encouragement she needed to go on.

When she faced the man once more, she saw that he opened his mouth to continue his tedious banter.

Viktoria didn't give him the chance to speak.

"W-Wait!" Viktoria shouted. Her voice came out shaky and echoed against the Ballroom's walls. Slowly, their guests hushed. Their attention had been effectively directed towards her. "I've got an announcement of my own."

There was a wireless podium that connected to a holographic projector by the base of the Ballroom's stage. Turning her back on Jacques, Viktoria walked towards it. Her footsteps echoed throughout the entire room. Each step she took seemed to get louder as the audience silently scrutinized her every move. She tuned them out and pressed on.

When she finally reached the podium, Viktoria connected the memory stick into its side. A small holographic screen popped up in front of her and she manoeuvred through its folders. She quickly found the folder she was searching for. However, before pressing it... she made sure to hold Jacques' gaze.

To any normal guest, it probably seemed like the man was calmly staring back at her.

But Viktoria knew better than that.

She felt profoundly _satisfied_ when she could tell that Jacques was trying not to snap.

" _What_ do you think you're doing, dear _wife._ "

As she pressed on the folder, Viktoria genuinely smiled for the first time that night.

"I'm exposing you for the rat bastard that you are."

* * *

"I'm exposing you for the rat bastard that you are."

Weiss couldn't help but gape at her mother's choice of words. She expected Viktoria to leeway into this moment in many ways. This was not one of them. Nevertheless, she had to admit that this particular route was wildly exhilarating. Soon, she found herself mimicking her mother's wicked smile.

The shocked gasps elicited from some of their guests jolted her back to reality. Weiss knew for a fact that it wasn't Viktoria's profanity that caught the socialites off guard. No... it was something else entirely.

She then gazed at the massive holographic projection being displayed on top of the Ballroom's stage.

Various documents outlining Jacques' misdeeds were presented on the projection for all of their guests to see. Nicholas' admission file to The Callows, receipts for Irradium dust shipments/orders... there were even suspicious documents that suggested acts of _embezzlement_ were made within the SDC; and it all pointed right back to _him_.

 _I'd like to see Jacques weasel his way out of this one._

The Ballroom started to fill with quiet murmurs. Weiss took note of how some of the people sounded shocked - others were more so confused. Then there were the rare few who appeared to be _excited_ at the prospect of Jacques getting what was coming to him. She turned to face the man.

Although Jacques' overall expression was indifferent, his eyes betrayed how bewildered he truly felt in that moment.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"I can't believe it!"

" _Finally..._ "

Their guests murmurs began to transition to outright exclamations. But then Weiss watched as Viktoria quickly waved her arm to control their audience, like Jacques did earlier during the night. The Ballroom quieted down for the Schnee Matron.

"Although these documents and facts speak for themselves, I'll make it clear with my words." Viktoria started - directing her gaze towards the crowd. "Jacques, among many other things, is a _fraud._ The documents that you all see in front of you right now are proof of the schemes that he pulled throughout the years."

"Schemes that he orchestrated to obtain the Schnee name," Weiss added.

"That's right," Viktoria confirmed. "For the last two decades, Nicholas- my father... had been admitted to The Callows under a false diagnosis. Contrary to the public's belief, his health didn't deteriorate because of some age-related disease that affected his brain." She paused, turning her face to stare Jacques right in the eye. "No, to take my father's place as the head of the Schnee household, Jacques poisoned him with Irradium Dust. _That_ was what caused him to lose his mind."

The atmosphere within the Ballroom ran cold when Viktoria revealed Jacques' schemes.

In that moment, the implications behind her father's devious actions were laid bare for their guests to judge. Even when Weiss realized the weight of what he did, she couldn't believe it. Irradium Dust was one of the most toxic elements known to man; and what Nicholas Schnee suffered from was Irradium _poisoning_.

It was a rare but lethal disease with no cure.

Jacques didn't just incapacitate her grandfather.

No... he was slowly _killing him._

Suddenly, Jacques scoffed. Their guests, along with Weiss, stared at the man in bafflement.

"Do you really think that you're going to _win_ here?"

Weiss clenched her jaw as she tried to control the rage bubbling within her chest. Jacques was in no position to be acting like he had the upper hand - but there he was, with his nose upturned and his eyes staring down at her mother at the podium. Her mother returned his gaze, challenging him.

"Even if you do, by some miraculous chance, walk away from this night as a free man... it won't matter." Viktoria stated as she gestured to the crowd. " _Everyone_ here knows what you did. What you _are,_ Jacques."

Despite the situation unfolding around him, Jacques smiled. "And what would that be?"

"A _murderer!"_ Viktoria all but roared - her composure crumbled as she got swept up in her own emotions. "You... You stole my father's _life_ away from him! And for what?! A _name_ -"

"A name that I still _own!_ " Jacques shot back, his voice rising to meet Viktoria's in volume. Everyone stared at the man as he slowly revealed his true nature. Weiss knew, at this point, that his temper was starting to get the best of him. His eyes flared in unfiltered rage, and his fists were clenched at his sides.

Jacques sneered at Viktoria. "You're forgetting that I still hold the power of that _name_ , Viktoria. Regardless of what you and your little _friends_ accuse me of." He aggressively waved an arm towards the crowd - gesturing at them. "I also know that I'm not the only one in this room who has taken part in underhanded schemes to get what I want- no, to get what I _deserve._ I might be a murderer... but I'm a murderer amongst fellow thieves, gamblers, gluttons, and _adulterers._ These people have _no right_ to righteously judge me!"

Weiss stood there, shocked, as Jacques' words hung in the air. He just... snapped. She could barely believe it. He unknowingly lumped the entirety of Vale's elite with him and his less than reputable ways!

As she gazed out to the crowd, she saw that they also shared her shock. But soon, the shock transformed into indignation as their eyes became sharper - _angrier_. Their gazes then solidified into utter displeasure. Before she knew it, _all_ of their guests were outright sneering or scowling towards the man.

 _The bastard just dug his own damn grave._

Jacques, however, ignored the crowd and had the audacity to act smugly. He crossed his arms, and smirked at Viktoria.

"You won't be able to touch me, dear _wife_. I am still a _Schnee_."

"That's where you're wrong, Jacques."

Weiss whipped her head towards the vaguely familiar voice. She gaped at the man who spoke when she recognized him.

Jacques narrowed his eyes. " _Who_ the hell are you?"

"Right now, that's not important." Qrow said, completely ignoring the fuming Schnee Patriarch. He then walked across the Ballroom towards Viktoria, and took out a scroll from his back pocket. "Is there any way that I can connect this onto that holographic projection?"

After a moments hesitation, Viktoria nodded. Like Weiss, she probably wasn't expecting to see Qrow _now_ of all times. He was supposed to show up to the party _later_ with the cops. But apparently he had more incriminating evidence on Jacques. His timing was... dramatic, to say the least.

"I... Yes. Just sync your scroll up to the podium."

"Alright."

Qrow sauntered his way towards the podium and began to wirelessly connect the devices. Soon, a loading bar popped up on the large projection above them - indicating that his scroll was syncing up to it. Everyone waited in anticipation for whatever it was that Qrow had on his device to pop up.

 _Ping!_

Weiss stared at the new projection.

 _A...marriage licence?_

Jacques _truly_ lost his composure for the first time that night.

"How in the _hell_ did you get your hands on that form!?" Jacques snarled.

Qrow ignored the Schnee Patriarch _again._ Instead, he turned to face Viktoria with a pensive expression. "You never signed any legally binding documents for your marriage to Jacques, did you?"

"I... No." Viktoria answered slowly - her eyes widening in realization. "No, I don't remember signing any forms. I...I just assumed th-that he and my father made some kind of agreement or..." her voice trailed off. An overwhelming surge of emotions appeared to engulf her mother as she thought about Qrow's question. Even Weiss was taken by surprise and found it hard to process.

However, as she continued to scrutinize the document, she realized that it was notarized but not completely signed. Her eyes widened in shock when she finally connected the dots.

Qrow nodded in understanding before turning back to Jacques once more. He scowled.

"Vi, I'll cut to the chase." He started - never breaking eye contact with the conniving man at the head table. "Jacques falsified your marriage documents."

Viktoria let out a small gasp. "You mean-"

"Legally... you're not his wife."

* * *

The entire Ballroom went silent after Qrow made that declaration.

"Which means Jacques isn't a Schnee," Kali whispered under her breath.

 _SLAM!_

Everyone's attention was brought back to the man who slammed his fist against the head table. Kali grew alarmed when she saw Jacques' expression. An ugly scowl made its way onto his face, and he began breathing heavily. At that point, Kali knew that he was completely _unhinged._

Her Faunus ears then twitched when she heard Blake let out a low growl. Furrowing her brows, she glanced at her daughter.

Blake's eyes were slitted in, what Kali assumed to be, protectiveness and her ears were raised all the way up. The Faunus woman could also see that _Yang_ seemed to be tensed up as they stared on at the Schnee's. The bumblebee pair was ready to jump at the man. Suddenly, Kali whipped her head around when Ruby took a step forward, but was swiftly held back by Raven and Winter. Confused by the girls reactions, she returned her gaze back to the scene that was unfolding in front of them.

Kali immediately let out a protective growl of her own.

Weiss visibly shook as Jacques continued to display his unfiltered rage. The young girl tried to keep a brave face but it was more than obvious that she felt uneasy being around the time-bomb of a man. Considering Jacques' violent track record, she didn't blame Weiss for faltering before him. Kali's eyes then travelled to Viktoria, who also appeared to be shaken by Jacques' ominous demeanour.

Before she could even take a step forward, Kali felt Summer's hand on her shoulder. She grunted, but nevertheless stayed in her spot.

"Answer _me!_ " Jacques bellowed - his voice echoing across the Ballroom. " _Where-_ no, _who_ told you about those documents!?"

Qrow smirked back at the man. "Lets just say that the very few who you hold close aren't exactly your _'friends,'_ Jacques." He then turned his head to place a lingering gaze on one of the guests for good measure. Jacques whipped his head towards the guest within the crowd of socialites.

Kali followed their line of vision too... but when she realized who she was staring at, she found herself at a loss for words.

"... _Salem?"_

Jacques' voice was small, and filled with so much betrayal that Kali almost felt _bad_ for him. _Almost_.

Salem, who looked like she was mildly inconvenienced from being called out, blankly stared back at him. She then took a languid sip from her wine glass, and smirked.

"You shouldn't have abused my power to try and manipulate your daughter, Jacques."

"But I _trusted_ you-!"

"Which was a horrible mistake, really." The pale woman drawled, completely undeterred by Jacques' betrayal. "Honestly, to think that you'd be stupid enough to tell _me_ , of all people, about your secrets... you must be a very arrogant man if you truly believed I wouldn't use them against you."

Jacques could only stand there in utter disbelief. Even Kali couldn't even wrap her head around what was going on. She always knew that Salem was a chaotic person, but _this_... this was on an entirely different _level_.

Forget _chaos._ This was absolute _mayhem._

Kali's train of thought shattered when Salem laughed mockingly.

"Don't tell me that you actually _fell in love_."

"I-!"

Suddenly, the crowd parted like the Red Sea - interrupting their little scene. Kali and the others also moved out of the way when they saw it was the cops who finally made an appearance. The head officer, who was interestingly enough a wolf-Faunus, wasted no time in making himself known. He nodded towards Qrow in greeting, but then hardened his gaze when he turned to face Jacques. The white-haired man immediately met the Faunus man's stare and became even more bewildered - if that was possible.

Everything around him fell apart so quickly that he didn't know how to react.

The Ballroom went dead silent once more. Everyone waited, with bated breath, to see how Jacques' arrest was going to go down.

Viktoria was the one who cut through the silence.

"Officer, when you're arresting him... make sure you use the name Jacques _Gelé._ "

 _That_ was the statement that caused Jacques to officially _snap._ Out of nowhere, the man let out a guttural scream and charged at Viktoria - shocking everybody who helplessly watched.

Before Kali knew it, she was sprinting across the dance floor. A surge of adrenaline rushed through her veins as she pushed her legs to go faster. When she closed in on the crazed man, the Faunus woman roughly grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back. Surprised by her sudden appearance, Jacques glared at her with wild eyes. Kali didn't let him react.

Closing her right hand into a fist, she pulled her arm back and then-

 _WHAM!_

* * *

 _WHAM!_

"Well I'll be damned..." Sienna drawled. An immeasurable amount of satisfaction began to fill her when the officers dragged the half-conscious man out of the Ballroom.

A disbelieving but utterly entertained smirk made its way onto the Bengal Tigress' lips.

"Kali just punched _Jacques freaking Schnee_ in the face."

* * *

 **LOL I think this might be one of the most dramatic chapters of the fic. But at this point, I'm assuming that y'all are still reading because you're here for the draaaamaaa (and the ships, especially the ships). Tbh, I was pretty nervous about posting this chapter! I hope it delivers xD And, just in case if some of you didn't know: Jacques' surname before he married into the Schnee's was Gelé. :P**

 **Anyways, Imma let you guys know now that this fic will end on the 51st or 52nd chapter.**

 **Also: it's just gonna be nonstop fluff until then!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N: I MEANT IT when I said non-stop FLUFF!**

* * *

"ahaaaa~ Kali punched _Jacques-freaking-Schnee_ in the _faaa-ace!_ "

Kali grunted while she tried to support the drunk off her ass Bengal Tigress who leaned against her shoulder. A small smile tugged at her lips when she heard Blake and Weiss from behind her, struggling to balance an even _worse off_ Winter Schnee. The poor girl was barely conscious at this point and being all but _dragged_ back into the house.

Viktoria, who held the front door open for them, giggled at the scene. "You guys have no idea how ridiculous you look right now."

"You could help us, you know."

"I'm holding the door, aren't I?"

Kali playfully rolled eyes in response to Viktoria's cheeky quip and readjusted her _idiotic_ sister at her side.

Naturally, after Jacques finally got what he deserved, all of the women (plus Qrow) decided to head on over to the Red Reaper's to celebrate. It all started out as a fun affair, really. There was lively music playing, their fellow patrons were very chummy - making the night rather enjoyable - _and_ Junior even let them have a few drinks on the house. In hindsight, he probably should've known that was a horrible idea because, well...

That was when Qrow challenged Sienna to a drinking contest.

Sienna had accepted.

Then, _somehow_ , Winter got swept up in it.

Kali had no idea how _that_ came to be... but by the time anyone could do anything about it, things already got out of hand. Way out of hand. To make matters worse, Raven had been keeping up with the trio as they drank too.

 _I still don't even know how they managed to set the bar counter on fire._

Yeah, they almost got banned... _again._

Sienna groaned, and then swatted at Kali. "D-Don't manhandle me like that, you fiend! I'm gonna get sic-"

Kali jostled the stupid woman around some more.

The Bengal Tigress immediately held a hand against her mouth and bolted through the front door. Kali walked into her home at a more casual pace with a small grin, clearly enjoying every second of her sister's misfortune. From her periphery, she could see that Vi was giving her a mildly unimpressed, but entertained smirk of her own.

"The nearest bathroom is in the guest bedroom at the end of the hall!" Kali called out - not bothering to hide the utter amusement in her tone. She then heard Sienna's rampant, receding footsteps and the sound of a door being jerked wide open. She waited for a couple of seconds until-

 _"Blerrrghhh!_ _"_

Kali continued to walk into her living room, and leaned against the couch - rolling her eyes at Sienna's retches. "Did you make it to the toilet, Sienna?"

"... _Yeah._ "

The Belladonna Matron sighed in relief. She didn't feel like cleaning up her drunken sister's vomit off the floor at the moment. Her ears then twitched at the sound of Blake and Weiss groaning. Turning her head, Kali was met with the girls basically _carrying_ Winter into the living room. She immediately walked towards them to lend some help.

"Here, let's put her on my back." Kali said as she bent over to piggy-back the drunken Schnee. "I doubt that Winter would want to share the guest room with Sienna. So we'll put her in your room, Weiss."

"Where will I sleep, then?" Weiss asked - frowning slightly while she helped stabilize her older sister on Kali's back. "There's no way I'm sharing a bed with Winter. She smells like a distillery!"

Kali simply directed a pointed look at Blake.

Blake threw her head back and groaned.

"No. Weiss sprawls when she sleeps!"

Weiss gasped at that in mild offence. "I do not _sprawl_!"

"You totally do." Blake deadpanned.

"I do _not!_ "

"You do _too."_

Kali let out a small groan of her own as the teenaged girls continued their childish bickering. She would've wiped a hand across her face in exasperation, but she was too busy holding up a drunk Winter Schnee on her back. She then gave Viktoria, who just locked the front door, a pleaful smile when she rejoined them. Viktoria returned the smile - albeit with amusement - and started to assess the situation.

"What's going on here, girls?"

The monochrome pair abruptly whipped their heads towards the Schnee Matron. They pointed accusingly at each other and began to speak - actually, _yell_.

"Weiss is being _stupid_ about-!"

"Blake is being _mean_ over-!"

Viktoria raised an arm to silence their argument. Surprisingly enough, the girls mouths zipped shut and they gazed back at the woman in wide-eyed apprehension. They simultaneously gulped. Viktoria, however, continued to try and bring about order between the cranky girls. She turned to Blake first, and smiled gently towards her.

"Blake, it's only going to be for one night." The white-haired woman reasoned as she reached out to stroke one of the young Faunus girl's ears. Her daughter actually leaned into Viktoria's touch - despite her small pout. Kali then watched in mild shock as Blake just _let_ Viktoria go on with her ministrations. She couldn't help but smile widely at the endearing scene.

"Just let Weiss sleep in your room for tonight, hun." Viktoria continued on. "Winter and Sienna are _way too_ drunk to be sleeping in the same room together, and I'm pretty sure your aunt is going to be throwing up for a while."

After a moment's consideration, Blake finally sighed in resignation. "Okay, fine."

"Thank you, Blake." Viktoria affectionately stroked the girl's hair and smiled. "Now go upstairs with Weiss and get changed. Your mother and I will take care of some things down here first."

Blake nodded compliantly, and then all but _dragged_ Weiss towards the stairs. Kali shook her head when she heard them quietly bicker amongst themselves as they walked away.

" _T_ _hat's_ how it's done, Kal."

The Faunus woman directed her gaze back towards the smug Schnee. Kali scoffed playfully while she readjusted the girl on her back.

"Oh we both know that they only listened to you because they're _scared_ of you."

"Well I got them stop with their bickering, didn't I? So I will count this as a win."

Suddenly, the sound of Sienna's retches ripped throughout the air. They both turned their heads towards the sound. Kali turned more so out of annoyance, whereas Viktoria did so out of concern (and mild disgust).

Kali sighed. "Could you go check on her quickly? I'll be at peace if I know that she's _not_ making a mess of my guest bedroom."

Viktoria chuckled softly at Kali's request, and left to do what was asked of her. The Faunus woman's gaze lingered on Viktoria's receding form for a while, but then Winter's snores jolted her back to reality. Smiling to herself, Kali made her way towards the second floor of her home. After reaching the top of her staircase, she immediately took a left and went down the hall.

She stopped in front of Weiss' room.

"Weiss?" Kali called out. "Are you decent? I'm here with Winter."

"Yeah, I'm decent." The door swung wide open, revealing the young girl in her nightgown. Weiss smiled apologetically. "I'll help you get my sister onto the bed."

"Oh you don't need to-"

"It's fine, Kali. This is the _least_ I could do after you had to lug her around on your back." Weiss walked to her bed and moved the covers over. She snorted. "I still can't believe she let herself get this _drunk_."

Kali chuckled softly and followed suit with Weiss' actions. "Your poor sister got caught up in Qrow's and Sienna's pace. She didn't stand a chance."

The Faunus woman carefully set the drunken girl down onto Weiss' bed. Weiss wasted no time in stripping her sister of her shoes, and tucked her in. Kali then watched, with a small smile, as Winter began to childishly cocoon herself into the covers. She could've sworn she heard the girl mutter a small 'thanks.'

Kali turned back to Weiss. "Well-oomf!"

The young girl rammed right into her chest, momentarily knocking the wind out of her lungs.

"Thank you."

Although she was caught off guard by the randomness of Weiss' gratitude, Kali returned the hug - firmly wrapping her arms around the girl's shoulders. "It was nothing, really. Winter isn't even that heavy and-"

"No, I'm not thanking you just for _that._ " Weiss muffled against Kali's shoulder. "It's- for everything, Kali."

The girl pulled back and beamed a tearful smile up at her.

"Thank you for taking me into your home, and accepting me for who I am. Thank you for being patient with me, and for supporting me unconditionally and... T-Thank you _so much_ for-" Weiss' voice broke, and she paused - swallowing thickly. Kali used this moment to wipe a couple of stray tears from the girl's eyes, and she coaxed her to go on with a gentle smile.

Weiss returned the smile.

"-Th-Thank you _so much_ for treating my sister and I as if we were your own - and for never giving up on my mother."

Overcome with emotion, Kali immediately trapped Weiss in a tight embrace.

Soon, she found herself affectionately nuzzling the young Schnee's temple. Weiss uttered a small 'eep!' in response. When she pulled back, Kali shed a couple of tears of her own and smiled widely down at the girl.

"I'd do anything for the ones that I love, Weiss," Kali replied simply. "Your family is no exception to that fact."

Suddenly, they heard someone cough from Weiss' doorway.

Both of them turned towards the sound. Blake and Viktoria were watching them with warm smiles. Her daughter had been leaning against the doorframe of her own room from across the hall, whereas Viktoria leaned against Weiss' doorframe.

Weiss abruptly straightened up when she realized they had a small audience, and then nodded to the Faunus woman.

"Ah, well... yes. Goodnight, Kali."

Kali quirked a brow at the girl's bashful behaviour, but nevertheless smiled. "Goodnight, Weiss."

She then watched as Weiss walked across the room to hug Viktoria.

"Goodnight, Mom."

The Schnee Matron was initially surprised by the sudden gesture, but quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter too.

Viktoria grinned. "Goodnight, honey."

Weiss pulled back from her mother and made her way to Blake's room. Blake let out teasing smile towards Weiss as she walked through her doorway.

"Aren't you going to hug me too?"

"...Shut it, Blake."

Blake giggled and shut the door to her room with a soft _click!_

Both of the women looked on in their daughters direction fondly, and turned to smile at one another. Kali then left Weiss' room too - making sure to shut the door quietly so she wouldn't disturb the sleeping Schnee.

"I managed to get your crazy sister in bed." Viktoria mentioned, with a tinge of exasperation in her voice. "And you don't need to worry about her making a mess in your guest bedroom. She made it to the toilet."

Kali sighed in relief. "Oh that's good. Thank you for dealing with that idiot of a woman."

Viktoria giggled at how Kali described her sister. Slowly, the white-haired woman's laughter had trailed off.

They entered a standstill.

The atmosphere between the two women became tense. However, it wasn't the kind of tension that made Kali feel uncomfortable with anxiety. No, it was the type tension derived from anticipation, with an underlying sense of _excitement_. The feeling slowly blanketed them as they stood in the dimly lit hallway - it danced around their bodies, brushing against their skin - and began to build. Kali then gulped. She silently wondered if she should be the one to cut through it.

Well... she _was_ going to break the tension until-

"It's getting late... I'll go sleep on the couch." Viktoria said - turning the other way. "Goodnight, Kal."

Before Kali knew it, she grabbed Viktoria's wrist.

"W-Wait!"

* * *

"W-Wait!"

Viktoria stopped in her tracks and looked back at the other woman with furrowed brows. "Is there something wrong?"

"N-No... that's not it."

Despite her answer, the Faunus woman still held onto her wrist. Not knowing what else to do, Viktoria simply waited for Kali to continue on with a patient smile. She saw that Kali couldn't quite meet her gaze, which was odd (to say the least).

 _What's-?_

"You don't need to sleep on the couch, Vi." Kali finally stated, looking off to the side. "You can... You can come to my room with me."

 _Oh._

Viktoria couldn't help but stand there and gape at the other woman.

While she stood there like an outright fool, Viktoria began to notice how Kali's grip had trembled ever so slightly. Her eyes then travelled from the Faunus woman's shaking hand up to her face. Her ears appeared to be drooped in apprehension and a faint, pink hue dusted her cheeks. Something tugged at her heart when she saw that Kali held a small, but nervous smile.

Viktoria swiftly went to hold Kali's hand.

"Okay."

She guided the Faunus woman back to her room at the far end of the hallway. Kali wordlessly followed her into the master bedroom - closing the door behind her with a soft _click!_ They both stood in the darkness for a moment, but then Kali walked past her towards something across the room. Suddenly, she turned on a small lamp that stood by the bed - lighting up the room in incandescence.

"Er... I've got some pyjamas in my closet that you can borrow for the night."

Viktoria nodded. She made no motion to walk to the said closet.

Instead, she made her way to the Faunus woman by the lamp.

Kali's eyes widened in surprise as she neared her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Viktoria beat her to it.

"Could you help me with unzipping the back of this dress?" Viktoria asked her - smiling timidly. "The zipper's kind of at an awkward angle..."

It was Kali's turn to gape at her. However, the Faunus woman recovered quickly and nodded in response to her request. Viktoria couldn't help but giggle at Kali's bashful behaviour before turning around.

Kali slowly unzipped her dress, stopping at the small of her back. Viktoria involuntarily shuddered. If it was because the cool air had brushed against her exposed back or because Kali's breath had lingered on her skin, she didn't know.

"There. I got it for you."

"Th-Thank you."

Viktoria took in a deep breath before letting the dress fall down to the ground.

She heard Kali make a choking sound. "V-Vi, what are y-!"

"Kal."

Her voice was barely above a whisper. Kali zipped her mouth shut and stayed silent - prompting Viktoria to continue on. Again, she took in a deep, calming breath and slowly let it out.

"I... I know we have an unspoken agreement on how we would _wait_ to be with each other until _after_ everything died down, but..." she turned around, closing the distance between them. Viktoria gripped her hands against the front of Kali's tux jacket and stared up at her. "I don't think I can wait. Not anymore."

Kali's eyes widened in shock. For a while, they stood in the dimly lit room in silence. She could tell that the Faunus woman was searching for any sign of hesitation on her part. Viktoria made sure to communicate that she wanted this - she wanted _her._

Something shifted in Kali's gaze.

Viktoria's heartbeat quickened as Kali leaned down and rested her forehead against her own. Closing her eyes, the Schnee Matron focused on the other woman - taking all of her in. Kali's scent slowly engulfed her senses. The woman smelled of lavender and, strangely enough, lime. It was a familiar scent that she had grown to _love_ throughout the years.

Soon, she felt the other woman's breath lingering against her lips.

She resisted the urge to shudder when Kali lifted her hand to trace the length of her spine. In one swift movement, she loosened Viktoria's bun - causing her alabaster hair to fall down to her shoulders. While the Faunus woman did this, Viktoria reached forward and slowly undid Kali's tie. The article of clothing dropped down to the floor, next to her dress.

The next thing Viktoria knew, Kali's lips had brushed against her own. She automatically wrapped her arms around the Kali's shoulders, pulling her close. Kali firmly placed her hands on Viktoria's hips.

At first, the kiss was tentative - soft. She took note of how Kali still had the faint taste of wine laced on her lips. They slowly moved in sync - both of them were gauging the other woman's reaction and pace.

A sense of _relief_ suddenly washed over Viktoria. It felt like she had finally released a breath that she didn't know she was holding in. Kali smiled into the kiss.

That was when Viktoria pulled back momentarily.

For a split-second, they both paused - confirming to one another that they knew what they were doing.

Suddenly, Kali's lips came crashing down against hers.

This time, it was passionate - desperate. She let her desire take control, and reacted to the other woman's pace on instinct. She lifted a hand and tangled her fingers in Kali's dark locks. Viktoria jolted in surprise when the Faunus woman's tongue slipped between her parted lips - eliciting a breathy whimper from her. Kali's tongue slid sensually against her own, making Viktoria's mind go blank - making her want _more_.

A moan erupted from Viktoria's throat as Kali's hands began to roam her body. Her hands were gentle, but fervent - and _thorough,_ oh God were they thorough. She could tell that there was a sense of urgency lying beneath Kali's caresses. It was an urgency that she reciprocated completely.

Viktoria wasted no time in returning the favour and explored the other woman's body too. She slid her hands under the front of Kali's dress shirt, and traced her midsection - relishing in how firm and toned her muscles were. She purred in delight when she felt the taller woman's muscles twitch under her fingers.

Kali groaned at her touch. "Oh Gods..."

Viktoria giggled, and moved her hands down. She undid the Faunus woman's pants and tried to take them off for her.

Before she knew it, she had been pushed onto the bed.

Viktoria grunted as her back hit the mattress, but she quickly propped herself up by her elbows. She got up in time to see that the other woman had stripped herself of her dress pants.

Viktoria then bit down on her lip as Kali straddled her waist. A small fire lit up deep within her belly when she could _feel_ the heat radiating from between the Belladonna Matron's thighs. She reached forward, idly running her hands along those very thighs. She then watched, in borderline _agony_ , as Kali slowly unbuttoned her dress shirt. Soon, Viktoria had a good view of the Faunus woman's exposed stomach. She let her eyes freely explore her toned body, not even bothering to look away.

Kali, however, continued on with her ministrations - fully unbuttoning her shirt. Every movement was alluring - _tantalizing,_ driving the Schnee to the brink of insanity.

Viktoria found herself being so wound up that she almost ripped Kali's shirt off right there and then. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to have their bodies writhing against one another in raw desire. She wanted to have Kali _moaning_ her name right next to her ear; she wanted to hear her _beg_ for it. She wanted- no, _needed_ to taste Kali's skin on her tongue.

 _Hell_ , she wanted to see Kali's head between her le-

Kali smirked, and leaned down towards her.

"Vi...I don't think I can wait any longer, either."

Viktoria roughly grabbed Kali by her collar and pulled her down to the bed.

* * *

Blake tried to stretch herself out on her bed.

Keyword: _tried._

Unfortunately, she couldn't exactly complete the feat because of one Weiss Schnee. Who was, incidentally, _sprawled_ all over a good three-quarters of her bed. Seriously, the girl was shamelessly 'snow angeled' next to Blake without a care in the world.

Blake had half the mind to shove her right off of the bed, but she resisted the urge to do so.

Instead, she opted to observe the phenomenon that was the 'Sleeping Weiss Schnee'. She would've got her scroll to take an embarrassing photo (and maybe send it to Ruby), but the device was placed on Weiss' side of the room.

It was a shame, really... because Weiss looked ridiculous.

One would think that the young Schnee would have a graceful sleeping face (and posture?). However, that notion couldn't have been further from the truth. In reality, Weiss was quite the ugly sleeper.

The white-haired girl's mouth was wide open, with drool leaking from the corner of her lips. This somewhat irked Blake because now she had to replace her pillowcase.

"Y-You d..olt..." Weiss mumbled in her sleep.

The Faunus girl quirked an amused brow at the sleep-talking Schnee. She snorted quietly. Apparently, Weiss reprimanded Ruby even in her sleep.

Weiss began to giggle... like a _creep._ "mhnn... w-wait...that's a sensi..tive spo-mfff!"

 _Ew._

Blake shoved a pillow in the sleeping girl's face before she could finish that (gross) sentence.

Weiss immediately woke up, and began to flail under the pillow on top of her face. Blake watched the situation unfold in amusement - she wasn't even holding the pillow against Weiss' face anymore. The white-haired girl was just being dramatic.

This went on for a while until the Schnee finally emerged from behind the pillow with an unnecessary gasp. She gave Blake a baleful look.

"You! What the hell are you trying to do to me while I'm defenceless in my sleep?!"

"First: rephrase that question. You make it sound like I am assaulting you." Blake drawled as she propped herself up on one elbow - facing the fuming girl. "And second: I don't need to know where your _sensitive spots_ are. Although, I'm glad that Ruby has found them for y-oof!"

The last thing Blake saw before being smothered was Weiss' bright red face, glowering at her in utter embarrassment.

She laughed from behind the pillow, and escaped her friend's wrath with ease.

Sitting up on her bed, she gave Weiss a sidelong glance with mirth still very evident in her eyes. "I don't know about you, but I am _hungry._ "

Despite her embarrassment, Weiss grunted at Blake's call for food in some weird form of agreement. They both wordlessly got out of her bed, and opened the door leading into the hallway.

"I was thinking we could make breakfast for everybod-uhh..." Blake's train of thought trailed off when she saw Weiss walk towards her own room. Presumably to wake Winter up. She chuckled, almost nervously. "Are you sure about that?"

Weiss looked back at her over her shoulder, frowning. "Sure about what?"

"Waking your sister up."

"Yes, I am. She must be hungry by now."

"And also hungover. _Very hungover._ "

Weiss rolled her eyes at Blake's statement while she reached for the door handle. "It'll be fine."

Blake, who knew that it _wasn't_ going to be fine, simply raised her hands in surrender and muttered a small 'if you say so...'

She then cautiously watched as the white-haired girl slowly opened the door to her own room.

"Winter?" Weiss softly spoke - stepping into the doorway. "Blake and I are making breakfast, would you like so-oomf!"

Winter threw a pillow at Weiss with such force that it actually knocked her back one step. The offending object fell from Weiss' face and into her arms. Both of the teenaged girls stared back at the very _unhappy_ Schnee on Weiss' bed. From where she stood, Blake could see that Winter had her head buried under another pillow. She didn't know if she felt amused or scared by the older Schnee right now.

Winter uttered but one word.

"Out."

Weiss respected her sister's wishes and shut the door.

They stood there for a bit in dumbfound silence. Well... until Blake decided to pipe up.

"Lets go ask my mom if she wants some breakfast." She suggested, shrugging nonchalantly.

Weiss silently agreed to her suggestion, and threw the pillow in her arms into Blake's room. Thinking nothing of it, Blake languidly walked down the hall with the other girl towards her mom's bedroom.

They didn't even bother to knock as they opened the door.

"Hey, mom?" Blake called out as she stifled a monstrous yawn. Her eyes watered while she to stepped into her mother's room. "Weiss and I are going to make some breakfast. Do you have any requests...?" her voice trailed off.

Due to her vision being momentarily obscured by the tears that developed from her yawn, Blake couldn't exactly get a good look of what was on her mother's bed. All she could see was a messy blob. She could kind of see general shapes and colours. Apparently, there was something _pale_ on the bed. It kind of looked like-

 _The...moon?_

Blake rubbed her eyes to get rid of some of the residual tears. From her periphery, she could see that Weiss had frozen in her spot. She ignored the girl's weird behaviour and focused on what was in front of her.

That was when she recognized the familiar head of _white hair_ sprawled all over the top quarter of Kali's bed.

 _Viktoria's...moon._

Blake's eyes shot _wide open._

 _Not a moon! Not a moon! Oh my- my EYES!_

She spun around on her spot and wondered if it was physically possible to bleach her fucking brain. She had no idea why the possibility of Viktoria spending the night in her mom's room didn't occur to her! The freaking women basically _oozed_ sexual tension when they were in each other's presence!

Blake inwardly screamed and cried - she scried.

 _"_ Oh my GOD!"

"Why aren't they under the covers!?" Weiss shrieked from behind her hands.

"Wh-What's with all the noise..." Kali grumbled.

Suddenly, Blake heard the sound of the bedsheets rustling. Sensing that their mothers started to register what was going on, Blake's embarrassment had increased tenfold. Her Faunus ears then twitched as the two older women scrambled to get under the said bedsheets.

"Oh... OH MY GOD!"

"Why didn't they knock!?" Viktoria shrieked (presumably) from under the blanket.

Blake panicked. "W-W-We usually don't knock before going into anyone's rooms in this house!"

Which was absolutely true! They all respected each other's privacy enough not to snoop around in another member's room. It was also why they usually kept their doors wide open most of the time. Nobody had anything to hide!

"I am _vetoing_ that rule: effective immediately!"

"Your veto of the rule has been noted, mother!" Weiss' shrill voice cut through. She still had her hands completely covering her eyes.

"We are leaving _now!_ " Blake grabbed Weiss by the arm and dragged her out towards the hallway. However, before she shut the door, some idiotic part of her brain wanted to keep on speaking. "We were just wondering if you guys would like some breakfast... but if you're still _busy_ then-"

 _Oh my god WHAT am I saying!?_

Viktoria gasped. "B-Blake!"

"Okay, bye!"

 _SLAM!_

The pyjama-clad teens leaned their backs against the door, trying to calm themselves down. Blake could feel that her face was still hot from witnessing such a- oh God, she couldn't even describe it. She had no idea how she was going to look either woman in the eye for the next couple of days... or years.

"Well...that was a thing."

Weiss quirked a brow at how Blake summarized it, but nevertheless snorted. "A horrible thing, really."

Suddenly, the girls heard muffled laughter coming from the other side of the door.

"We can _hear_ you guys, you know!"

Blake and Weiss initially stiffened from being called out. However, shortly after, the incredulity of the situation set in and they both collapsed in a fit of giggles too.

At that point, laughing was all that they could do.

* * *

 **That really _was_ a thing... LOL.**

 **The shenanigans are back xD I'm also going to try my best to tie up loose ends with other characters and their respective arcs *cough* Coco and her mom, along with Ilia and her situation, aaaand the aftermath of Jacques' exposé *cough* I hope you guys continue to stick with me until the end!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	49. Chapter 49

**Hello again, dear readers!**

 **Lemme just pop right back in and leave this chapter for you to enjoy.**

* * *

"G'morning!"

"Morning..."

Raven and the others greeted the sleepy brown-haired couple back with 'good mornings' of their own. Like usual, the Rose-Branwen family went to the Red Reapers to grab some breakfast for the weekend. Despite the fact they wreaked havoc last night, Junior still let them into the pub. Raven knew, without a doubt, that a certain Rabbit-Faunus had something to do with why they were still allowed in the bar joint. Junior could _never_ say no to the kid.

She then smiled fondly as Velvet went in the back kitchen to brew Coco and herself a cup of coffee. The fashionista sat with Ruby and Yang at a table with a small smile graced upon her lips - idly waiting for Velvet to come back.

Something about the adorable couple's actions felt so endearingly routine. Raven couldn't help but inwardly gush.

But then her 'gushing' slowly transformed into suspicion.

 _That's like the third time I've seen Coco stay overnight at Velvet's place..._

As if sharing her thoughts, Junior, who had been keeping watch on all of them (which was understandable), began to stare down the unsuspecting brunette from the kitchen. Raven, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized the girl too.

She was about to have a word with Coco, but then she received a hefty nudge from her wife.

Raven grunted. "Wha-?"

"Leave her alone, Rae."

The Branwen rubbed her side and turned to her deceptively strong wife. "I just wanna make sure that they're being safe."

"Safe from _what?_ " Summer quirked a brow at her - staring flatly. "You don't even know if they're taking part in all of... _that_ yet." She then softened her gaze, placing a hand over Raven's own on the table. "You know that Velv will come to us when she's _ready_ to ask those kinds of questions."

Raven sighed in resignation. " _Fine_. I won't bug them."

"Good." Summer smiled in satisfaction. She then chuckled nervously. "Besides, you know how _violent_ that girl can get when she's embarr-"

As if on cue, Junior bursted through the kitchen door - ducking towards the ground.

 _CRASH!_

Everyone watched as a stool flew past those doors, narrowly missing its target... which happened to be Junior. Velvet stormed out of the kitchen right after, and directed a flustered glare at the bar-owner.

The tall man shot up from his position and gave the young Rabbit-Faunus an incredulous look.

"I'm just _saying_ that dental dams are a thing!"

"And _I'm_ just saying that I don't wanna talk about dental dams being a thing!" Velvet yelled back at the gruff man, completely red in the face. "Coco and I aren't d-doing _that_... yet!"

"Oh _please_ , the brat stayed overnight at your place a handful of times already! You're not fooling _anyone_ , kid."

Velvet grabbed a patron's empty plate from the counter in blind rage, and posed to throw it like a frisbee.

Junior blanched. "W-Whoa! Lets not get too violent here, Velv. I'm still tryin' to recover from what you guys did last night!"

 _Da-Ding!_

The bells at the front door rang, indicating that more patron's had entered the pub. The sound seemed to snap Velvet out of her little 'rage-fit,' and in the end, all she did was huff exasperatedly. She roughly placed the plate back down onto the counter and gave Junior a pointed look.

"Go tend to the patrons!"

" _Yeesh!_ Ya don't gotta to tell me twice..." The bar-owner grimaced as he did what he was told. He then conducted himself professionally (at least as professionally as a guy like Junior could), and greeted the said patrons.

"Hello! Welcome to- Oh. It's just you guys."

Curious, the Rose-Branwen pair turned their heads to see who was on the receiving end of Junior's 'warm welcome.' They both stared in mild shock once they recognized who the newcomers were. Raven then chuckled to herself, whereas Summer stared at them with a beaming smile. She felt her wife nudge her side once more - although this time, Summer did it in excitement.

 _I should've made a bet on those two idiots._

Both Kali and Vi walked towards their table, hand-in-hand - like it was the most natural thing in the world. Closely following them were their daughters, with the exception of Winter (who Raven assumed was riding out a gnarly hangover). The young girls joined Ruby and Yang at a nearby table; and idly chatted about their mornings.

Their cheeky daughters wasted no time in telling them about Velvet's hissy fit. Shortly after, the girls directed their attention towards a certain fashionista, who had her head flat against the table in utter embarrassment. They teased the poor girl mercilessly.

Raven smiled at the scene before turning to focus on the older 'monochrome' duo.

"Is that any way to greet a customer?" Vi grumbled under her breath.

Kali chuckled wryly. "I don't blame him... we nearly set his pub on fire _again_."

They took the seats across from Raven and Summer; and continued to act nonchalant about the intimate air between them. Raven wanted to comment on it _so badly_. However, she was going to wait for an opening to leeway into that conversation. She didn't know if Summer was going to wait, though. Her wife was basically bouncing up and down in her seat in utter giddiness - smiling like a maniac towards the other women.

Kali turned to them - feigning ignorance with a cheeky smile. "Good morning, ladies~"

"Good morning..." Raven replied evenly.

Summer didn't say anything, and somehow managed to smile even harder. The redhead then whipped her head towards Vi and stared at her with an expectance. Vi didn't budge. Instead, the Schnee actually had the gall to act ignorant too.

Her wife let out a barely contained squeal.

"Well~?"

"Well~ _what_?" Viktoria playfully rolled her eyes, and mimicked the excitable redhead. "Would you like me to greet you a good morning too?"

Summer huffed. "Oh _c'mon_! Are you seriously gonna make me ask?!"

"Ask about _what~_ "

Now it was Raven's turn to roll her eyes. She didn't know why Vi and Kal were acting so coy. Everyone knew that they were bound to get together eventually - one way or another. She then propped her elbow on the table, leaned her head into her hand and idly listened to their banter.

A smile couldn't help but make its way onto her lips.

Suddenly, a sense of nostalgia overcame her as Vi and Summer continued with their shenanigans. In that moment, she felt like she was seventeen again - sitting in the middle of Beacon's cafeteria with her friends. She could see Kali mimicking her posture too, albeit the Cat-Faunus' attention was placed solely on everyone's favourite Ice Queen. Again, Raven was reminded of the countless times that Kal would steal glances of the Schnee like some love smitten fool.

She watched as Vi caught Kali staring at her. She then resisted the overwhelming urge to tease them when they both shyly smiled at one another.

 _They're such dorks..._

Raven couldn't help but notice a couple of minuscule details about her friends as she sat there. One of which involved one Viktoria Schnee... and the very apparent _love bite_ on her neck. She almost pointed it out right then. Instead of doing so, Raven nonchalantly directed her gaze towards Kali. Although there weren't any visible marks on her skin, the way she looked at Vi told the Branwen woman _everything._

 _Ohohoho~_

 _They fucked!_

Oh she had to tease them about this. At least a little.

"Late night?" Raven drawled.

Kali stiffened momentarily before turning towards her. Once they made eye contact, Raven made sure to communicate that she _totally knew_ about what the Belladonna did with Vi the night prior. Upon receiving her silent message, Kali cleared her throat.

"W-Well... we got back from the pub around midnight."

Raven hummed in feigned understanding and grinned at the sly Cat-Faunus.

"Oooh did Kal not have a good enough cat-nap?" Summer joined in, oblivious to what Raven was actually alluding to.

Kali was about to make a retort to Summer's joke, but Raven beat her to it. She chuckled. "Oh I can assure you that Kal probably had a _very good_ night."

Her remark didn't go unnoticed by Viktoria, who narrowed her eyes at the cheeky Branwen. Rather than 'stir the pot' even more, Raven opted to wink at the Schnee. Summer, on the other hand, just seemed confused by their cryptic gestures.

She decided to leave the teasing at that.

And if she were being quite honest with herself, she'd rather not deal with a flustered Viktoria Schnee. The Ice Queen, much like Velvet, would become incredibly violent whenever she was embarrassed. Even more so than the Rabbit-Faunus (which says _a lot_ , considering that Velv had a nasty tendency to throw things). Raven inwardly winced. Yeah...Vi's hissy fits were on a level of their own.

So she wasn't going to be tactless about exposing this juicy little fact.

Summer then let out a profoundly loud gasp that went on longer than it should have.

"Oh. My. _God._ You guys did the _dirty_!"

Raven almost face-palmed.

Unfortunately, _her wife_ held no such tact.

 _SLAM!_

The black-haired pair jumped when Vi abruptly stood up and slammed her hands against the table. The Schnee Matron's face was bright red - if it was out of anger or embarrassment, Raven didn't know. All she knew was that they were _screwed._ The Branwen sunk in her seat and audibly gulped.

 _Vi's going to flip the damn table._

She closed her eyes and waited for her impending doom.

It didn't come.

Raven slowly opened her eyes, and furrowed her brows at the silent Schnee. The white-haired woman's face was still bright red, but there were no traces of anger being emanated from her. There was just pure embarrassment, and a general sense of displeasure (undoubtedly towards the Rose-Branwen duo).

"Aren't you going to flip the table in blind rage?"

Viktoria rolled her eyes. "No. I am not. I need to save my energy for what I am going to do next."

Raven quirked a brow at her.

Vi simply ignored the Branwen, and directed her attention to the Belladonna Matron.

"Here." Vi firmly placed a document on the tabletop and slid it towards Kali. All of the women (including their children), inspected the piece of paper that Viktoria presented to Faunus woman. Once Rae registered _what_ the paper was, she let out a gasp just like Summer did a few minutes ago.

 _It's a marriage licence!_

Kali stared back at the Schnee with a tearful grin.

"Is... this what I think it is?"

Vi simply nodded with a smile of her own.

"Noooo!"

Everyone gaped at Summer's random, jarring outburst. Even Raven was at a loss for words.

 _Is_ my wife _seriously objecting to Vi's proposal right now...?_

Summer ignored their baffled reactions and pointed an accusatory finger towards Viktoria. " _Where_ is the _romance?!_ Where's the _ring?!_ The overly dramatic declaration of _love_?! And _Why_ aren't you kneeling on one knee?!" The redhead had the gall to cross her arms indignantly. "This is all wrong, Vi! I demand a do-over!"

Raven silently let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in. Okay, so she _did not_ have to worry about Summer being 'secretly in love' with Vi...

Kali seemed beyond confused by how _bothered_ the redhead was about the proposal. Then there was Vi, who's left eye was twitching uncontrollably; no doubt from utter annoyance.

"What does that even matter-?!" Viktoria huffed, throwing her hands in the air. "You know what? _Fine!_ If you want romance, I'll give you your stupid, precious _romance_!"

Vi's hands came back down against the table with a mighty _SLAM!_

"You!"

Kali sunk in her seat - pointing a finger at herself. "M-Me?!"

"Yes, you: Kali Belladonna!"

The entire pub went silent. Everyone's undivided attention was placed on the Schnee who was performing this declaration of love that Summer kind of pressured her into doing. Vi tried to ignore her mini audience and focus on the Faunus woman before her at the table.

"F-From the moment..." Vi stuttered out - her voice echoed against the walls of the silent pub. She paused, and then cleared her throat. "From the moment I met you, I _knew_ that all you were going to do was cause me trouble."

Raven snorted.

 _Good start, Vi._

"As teenagers, you'd string me along into _many_ of your mischievous schemes. Be it as small as skipping a history lecture, or something even bigger like pranking the headmaster and removing all of his belongings from his office." Viktoria paused again when the people around them chuckled at that last part. The laughter quickly died down.

She gave Kali a pointed look. "You, Kali Belladonna, turned my life upside down; completely derailed it."

Kali actually winced a little at Viktoria's words. At this point, Raven wasn't sure if Vi was trying to romance or _lecture_ the Faunus woman. But before anyone could make a remark about it, the Schnee let out a heart-warming smile - the kind of smile that was filled with unfiltered adoration and love.

"And I wouldn't change a thing."

Raven swiftly covered Summer's mouth so she wouldn't squeal like a schoolgirl and ruin this moment.

They watched as Vi reached over the table to place a hand on top of Kali's. "You've helped me experience _so many_ things- so many _emotions..._ from the excitement of making genuine friends, to the uneasiness of falling in love... to the pain of heartbreak." Viktoria's voice was fragile. She gazed at the Faunus woman with gentle eyes, like she wanted Kali to know that she _never_ blamed her for how she made her own choices. Like she knew she had to hit rock-bottom first.

Something inside of Raven resurfaced. She knew where the Schnee was coming from. Raven then felt Summer place a hand on top of her own from under the table. They shared a brief, knowing smile.

She directed her attention back to the monochrome pair.

"Out of that heartbreak, I had to start over and relearn how to live a life without you in it," Viktoria continued on. "It turned out that I wasn't really good at doing that... So instead I tried to forget." She swallowed thickly, breaking eye contact with Kali for a moment. "You... You know how I tried to do that - how I tried to forget about you. About everything."

"And then you came back." Vi returned her gaze to the Faunus woman, smiling tearfully. "You came back and all of the memories that reminded me of how much I loved you just hit me all at once. At first, I tried _so hard_ to avoid facing you... because facing you also meant that I had to face myself - that I had to admit that I was completely lost and not okay."

"But being around you, and our friends, these past few months- I was able to find myself, to _feel like_ myself." Her voice cracked as she spoke. The Schnee Matron breathed in shakily, and slowly let it out. "I-I was able to remember what it felt like to be genuinely _happy._ I was able to truly connect with my daughters, and find the courage to ask them for forgiveness."

Viktoria then laughed.

"I was able to fall in love with you... _again._ "

Everyone watched as Vi got up from her seat to walk towards Kali's side of the table. "And I don't want to take any more chances."

She got down on one knee and offered the Belladonna a pen.

"So would you just hurry up, sign the damn paper, and be my wife already?"

Kali grabbed the pen and signed the 'damn paper.'

* * *

Yang, along with the rest of the pub, hollered when Blake's mom basically said 'yes' to Viktoria's proposal. The cheering got considerably _louder_ when the two older women sealed it with a kiss. After that, the atmosphere around them quickly transitioned into one of celebration. However this time around, Junior didn't offer anyone free drinks.

He learned his lesson from last night.

From her periphery, Yang could see Blake wipe a couple of tears from her eyes.

She turned and grinned at the emotional Faunus girl. "Happy?"

"Of course I am." Blake chuckled, playfully nudging Yang at her side. "They deserve to be together. To be happy."

"W-Weiss!"

The bumblebee duo jolted in surprise at Ruby's sudden outburst. They both shared a mildly confused look before directing their attention towards the other pair sitting next to them. When Yang saw what was 'wrong' with Weiss, her eyes lit up in amusement.

"I'm _fine_ , Ruby," Weiss sniffled - well, _blubbered_ almost incoherently. The Schnee girl vigorously wiped at her eyes. "I'm just so ha-haap-"

Blake snorted. "Happy?"

"Y-Yes!"

All of the girls laughed at Weiss' weird behaviour. It wasn't everyday that a person could see the _Ice princess_ act like a total _baby_. So seeing her like this was hilarious, and also kind of endearing.

It showed how much she truly cared for her mom's happiness.

"Uhh... I'm happy that you're happy, Weiss. But I'm gonna get you a tissue." Ruby stated, chuckling awkwardly. "Y-You're kinda getting _snot_ all over-"

"You don't need to talk about the snot!" Weiss exclaimed, crossing her arms. She gave Ruby a sidelong glance. "Also, yes. A tissue would be very much appreciated. Thank you, Ruby."

The redhead grinned, and went to kiss Weiss on the cheek before getting her tissues. "Heh... no problem!"

Weiss reddened slightly at Ruby's affectionate gesture, but nevertheless returned her smile. Yang, on the other hand, fondly watched their interaction in silence.

 _Yeah... I'm glad that they're together._

The girls chatted and bantered about random nonsense for the rest of the morning. A number of jokes were passed around, and some low-scale shenanigans had ensued. At a point, Yang was pretty sure that Blake and Weiss were planning their moms' wedding (along with Summer). Then her Ma started playing along and tried to create a makeshift alter out of the bar.

Junior wasted no time in shutting that down.

Mostly because Raven was _literally_ tearing the bar counter apart to make the alter.

"Can't you broads just sit down and eat at a restaurant like normal people!?"

Everyone bursted out into laughter at the pub owner's frustration.

When the laughter died down, the atmosphere entered a more subdued and peaceful state. Now, people were idly chatting with one another, or coming over to their table to congratulate the Belladonna-Schnee couple on their engagement.

"Hey, Yang?"

Yang shifted her attention towards the girl who called on her. "Yeah? What's up, Coco?"

"I know that the timing's a little random, but I was wondering if I could take you up on that offer you made a couple of days ago." The fashionista scratched the back of her neck. "You know, about my- er..." she trailed off for a bit - struggling to find a way to leeway into the topic.

Yang, however, knew exactly what Coco wanted to talk about.

 _Huh... I was wondering when she'd come talk to me about_ that _._

"Yeah, I'm free to listen to whatever you have to say."

Coco breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"It's no biggie!" Yang shrugged. "We should go and talk in a more private place, though." She looked around the pub for a secluded corner they could migrate to. Unfortunately, the pub was packed.

"You guys can go upstairs to my flat, if that works."

Yang and Coco turned towards the Rabbit-Faunus in surprise. Velvet simply offered them a friendly smile in return, and wordlessly handed Coco her apartment's key. She whispered something into the fashionista's ear, causing the brown-haired girl to grin.

Yang then jumped a little when she felt a hand snake around her waist.

"I'll see you later?"

Blake's breath lingered against her ear, making her mind go momentarily blank.

When Yang finally came to, she felt her cheeks go hot at the Faunus girl's forwardness.

She giggled like a total dork. "Heh, Yeah. See ya later!"

Shortly after, Yang and Coco parted with their Faunus partners and made their way to Velvet's apartment. Coco took it upon herself to lead the way, leaving Yang to follow her from behind. She quietly studied the girl in front of her as they walked up the stairs to the Rabbit-Faunus' home.

Truthfully, Yang didn't know what to expect from the fashionista.

She got the gist of Coco's familial situation from Velv - well, a more condensed version of it. There were some details that Yang was sure Velvet had left out. But she figured that Coco was going to 'fill in the blanks' when they started talking about it; especially when it came to the details about her famous mom. She had a feeling that the brunette didn't have the best relationship with the woman.

Yang inwardly chuckled to herself.

 _Jeez... what's up with my sisters and dating rich girls that have mommy issues?_

Although, _Yang_ was the one to talk.

She had issues with her Ma not too long ago.

"Alright, we're here."

Yang snapped out of it, and focused on the brunette who had already opened Velvet's apartment door. Coco walked inside the Faunus girls home, not forgetting to remove her shoes beforehand. Yang smirked at the sight.

 _I guess she's been over enough times to know about Velv's weird rule on wearing shoes inside..._

Actually, now that she thought about it... even the Belladonna's took part in this little habit. Was it a Faunus/Menagerian thing?

Yang quickly directed her attention back on Coco before she could spiral down that train of thought. She'll ask Blake or Velv about that later.

The blonde swiftly took her boots off and set them to the side with the fashionista's shoes. She wasted no time in following the other girl into Velv's living room area. Coco already took it upon herself to sit at the small kitchen counter directly to her right. Yang was about to join her, but then she saw a collage of photos displayed on the brick wall across the room. A smile slowly inched its way onto her face as she gravitated towards it.

 _I can't believe she still has all of these..._

There were photos of the Rose-Branwen family plastered all over the wall. Each of them showcasing precious memories from different parts of their lives. The pictures ranged from Ruby's little 'dust' experiments/projects, to Yang's past boxing tournaments, to random family pictures of the five of them goofing off. She ran a hand over a couple of them with fondness. It warmed her heart that Velvet had kept all of them.

Yang's smile widened when she saw there were a couple of additions to the wall - one of which included a photo of everyone at the Vytal festival.

"She loves you guys a lot."

"We love her a bunch too!" Yang immediately replied, turning around to face Coco. She trekked her way to the kitchen counter, and took the seat next to the fashionista. "Moms keep telling her that she can stay with us, but I guess she's having fun with this whole 'independent' thing."

Coco chuckled. "They miss having her around, don't they?"

"Oh yeah. Especially Ma!" Yang exclaimed. She then smirked. "Did she tell you about how they met?"

Coco shook her head with a small, expectant smile. Yang chuckled softly as she recalled the memory.

"When she was a kid, Velv tried to pickpocket Ma in downtown Mistral."

She almost laughed when she saw the fashionista's exaggerated expression. Coco kept on opening but then closing her mouth - obviously at a loss for words. She probably wasn't expecting Velvet, of all people, to be a thief. And a damn good one at that. Yang couldn't count how many times on _both hands_ that Velvet managed to snatch things off her person as they grew up.

Although, the Faunus girl wasn't good enough to get past Raven.

"She totally got caught." Yang continued, the smirk never leaving her face. "Then one thing led to another and Ma ended up offering Velvet a place to stay." Her gaze fell onto the counter and became unfocused as she recalled those memories. "They lived together at my uncle's place for a while before they finally moved in with us. So they got really close."

Coco hummed in understanding. But the blonde could tell that she had a bunch of questions whirling around in her mind.

"Your moms weren't together at the time...?"

"Nope." Yang promptly confirmed, popping the 'p' at the end. The fashionista quirked a brow at how nonchalantly she answered the question, and Yang just sheepishly shrugged back at her. Their conversation entered a bit of a standstill after that. The blonde was unsure of how to carry on. What they were inevitably going to delve into would definitely open some pretty fresh wounds. For the both of them.

Coco was the one who got the ball rolling.

"How did you react," Coco slowly began, "knowing that Raven was _there_? Knowing that she could be a part of your life?"

"Oh I was _pissed_."

There was another bout of dead air that came between them when Yang answered her so bluntly. She took that as a cue from the fashionista to elaborate.

Yang leaned back into her chair, and stared up at the ceiling. Again, her gaze became foggy as she thought about the past - the smallest of smiles finding its way onto her lips.

"I hated her. A lot." She continued on. "Even though I didn't really know Raven or what went on between her and Summer in the past. All I knew was that she _hurt_ her. And my dad. That was enough to make 'ten-year-old' me hate her guts." Yang then directed her gaze to her right arm. She idly examined her prosthetic as it came into focus. "She also came back around the time I lost this arm..."

"W-Wow... her timing was-"

"Very, _very_ shitty." Yang finished, chuckling wryly. "I know that I displaced _a lot_ of my anger on her. Not to say that I wasn't mad at her specifically - I was. But... there were some things I blamed her for that she had nothing to do with, and things that I've said to her that I'll never be able to take back." Yang then turned to Coco with a lopsided smile. "At a point, Velvet got so fed up with my bullshit that she took it upon herself to knock some sense into me. Both literally and figuratively."

Coco's eyes widened at that last part. "You're not serious, are you?"

"I'm dead serious." Yang replied, entertained by the fashionista's disbelief. "And she gave me a run for my money too."

This time, it was Coco who chuckled - but in incredulity. "I can't even begin to describe how shocked I am to hear this."

She joined the brunette in laughter. "Which part surprised you the most: Velvet being a thief and a fighter, or me not always having a good relationship with my Ma?"

"Both of those discoveries shocked me on equal scales, believe me..."

Yang snorted.

Coco, on the other hand, redirected her gaze towards the kitchen in front of them - staring at nothing in particular. Their conversation entered another silent lull. And again, Coco was the one to cut through it.

"You and Raven seem so _close_ now. It's hard to believe that you weren't on good terms with her at a point."

Yang hummed thoughtfully in response.

"You know...I didn't start calling Raven by 'Ma' until last year."

She saw that Coco whipped her gaze towards her when she made that statement. Yang simply nodded to confirm that it was one hundred percent true.

"We were all packing some stuff- y'know, to move to Vale." Yang elaborated. "I remember asking her to pass me a box that held some of our old albums inside of it, and the word kind of _slipped out_." She then chuckled to herself as she thought about the fond memory. "The look on everybody's face was priceless. Velvet's eyes nearly popped out of her head, Rubes almost dropped a couple boxes on her own foot, and Mom looked like she was about to cry."

"What about Raven?" Coco asked her. "What did she do?"

Yang faced the fashionista and grinned.

"She passed me the box."

Coco stared back at her, as if she was unsure of how to respond to that. Yang didn't blame her. Whenever she thought back on that little exchange she had with Raven, Yang couldn't help but remember how caught off guard she was at how _mundane_ it felt. There wasn't an emotional argument or even a boiling point that led to it. The way they made up - it was simple.

They didn't need to express in words how they were good now, or that they loved each other. They just _knew_.

"All I could think about was how _natural_ it felt to finally acknowledge Raven as my 'mom.'" Yang went on, thinking out loud. Coco eyed her attentively. She could tell that the fashionista was holding onto every word that she said. "And I also remember feeling stupid about how long it took me to realize that my Ma was always going to be there for me. That she cared, even if she didn't know how to show it well... She was just waiting for me to become aware of that fact."

She heard Coco audibly gulp, and watched the girl as her gaze dropped back down to the counter. The brunette sighed and she idly fidgeted with her hands. "Do... Do you think that's what Juliette's doing?" The girl furrowed her brows in thought. "Is she waiting?"

"I... can't speak for your mom." Yang answered her truthfully. She then reached over to place a comforting hand on Coco's shoulder. When their gazes connected once more, Yang grinned. "But I wouldn't be surprised if she _was_ waiting."

Coco stared back at her in uncertainty.

The blonde, however, kept the smile on her face. "Don't get me wrong, it's going to take _time_ for things to feel natural between the two of you. It didn't happen all at once for Rae and I. But when things do start falling into place with you and your mom... you won't even know that it's happening."

Yang then got up from her seat, and gave the girl a hefty pat on the back.

"You just need to take the first step."

* * *

 **WOW it's been a while since I've updated this, eh? Things have gotten pretty busy lately and I just haven't been finding the time to sit down and write for this fic. But do not worry! I am intent on finishing this story (especially since we are SO CLOSE!)**

 **LOL I was listening to the "Max and Chloe" OST while I wrote Vi's proposal to Kali so if it sounds overly emotional/dramatic... that is why.** **I also got the first two chapters of the Summer/Rae Prequel done, but I'm not gonna post them until _this_ is completed xD**

 **Idk when the next update is going to be, but be rest assured: I WILL finish this fic!**

 **I hoped you guys enjoyed the update :P**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


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